Zen Linux was a bootable live CD distribution. Most configuration was done automatically upon boot and requires no user interaction. It includes the ability to to create remastered, personalised editions of the product.

MoLinux 4.2, an Ubuntu-based, general-purpose distribution developed by the regional government of Castilla La Mancha in Spain, has been released. Code named Toboso, the new release of MoLinux is based on Ubuntu 8.10, which means that most of the included applications have been upgraded to their latest versions; these include Linux kernel 2.6.27, X.Org Server 1.5.2, GNOME 2.24.1, Firefox 3.0.5 and OpenOffice.org 3.0.0. The distribution's artistic team has delivered new desktop backgrounds depicting images from the autonomous community and some abstract designs, as well as brand new icons for the panels, menus and desktop. An interesting new feature is a new backup manager that automates backing up of data to external devices or over the local network. There is more - please see the full release announcement (in Spanish) for further details. Download the installable live CD from here: Molinux_4.2_Toboso.iso (649MB, MD5).

Yuichiro Nakada has announced the release of Berry Linux 0.94, a Fedora-based live CD with KDE 4 as the default desktop: "Berry Linux 0.94 released." This is the project's first version based on the stable Fedora 10, with Linux kernel 2.6.27.10, glibc 2.9, GCC 4.3.2, X.Org Server 1.5.3 and KDE 4.1.3 as the default desktop. Besides the kernel and toolchain, other major packages were also upgraded to their latest versions; these include Mozilla Firefox 3.0.5, OpenOffice.org 3.0.0, Flash Player 10, Samba 3.2.5, WINE 1.1.9, Digikam 0.10.0 and Inkscape 0.46. The distribution, which promotes itself as "the most beautiful OS in the world", comes with support for both English and Japanese (selectable from the boot menu), a control centre for configuring network interfaces and update features, and a simple graphical hard disk installer. For further information please refer to the full changelog. Download (MD5): berry-0.94.iso (542MB).

The third beta release of GeeXboX 1.2, a bootable, Linux-based media player, is now ready for testing: "Here comes beta 3 which is definitely a candidate for 1.2 release. We've performed a huge amount of bug fixes in various areas and were able to correct some longstanding issues we had. Two major changes come with this release: a completely new auto-mounter that now relies on D-BUS and HAL and the restoration of installer feature. Finally you should be able to install GeeXboX again, on both your hard disk drives and USB keys. Other parts of GeeXboX also had a few changes, mostly regarding the player that received a few fixes for audio CDs, DVDs, AAC and RealVideo 9 playback. Changelog: upgraded Linux kernel to 2.6.27.10; upgraded ATI Radeon and RAGE 128 drivers; updated MPlayer to r28184 (provides native RealVideo 9 / RV30 decoder)...." Here is the full release announcement. Download (MD5): geexbox-1.2-beta3-en.i386.glibc.iso (19.0MB), geexbox-1.2-beta3-en.x86_64.glibc.iso (20.4MB).

Stefan Wold has announced the release of Lunar Linux 1.6.4, a source-based distribution designed for advanced Linux users: "The Lunar team proudly announce the final release of Lunar Linux 1.6.4, code name 'Lacus Autumni'. It is our most polished release to date. New features: working software RAID configuration; improved language selection; installation from a USB stick or other media; ships with kernel 2.6.27.10; ReiserFS, XFS and JFS file systems are now also built-in with the precompiled kernels. Summary of changes since beta 1: isolinux updated; all modules refreshed; installer will now skip the 'swap file' step if a swap partition has been added; USB modems in the precompiled kernel have been disabled since they require firmware images that we don't supply; added lsb-release." Refer to the full release announcement for more details. Download: lunar-1.6.4-i686.iso.bz2 (296MB, MD5), lunar-1.6.4-x86_64.iso.bz2 (305MB, MD5).

The first test release of the upcoming Parsix GNU/Linux 2.0, a desktop distribution and live CD based on Debian's testing repository, is ready for download: "The first testing release of Parsix GNU/Linux, code name 'Boss Skua', is finally out. It took little longer due to more dramatic changes in GNOME 2.24 than in the older releases. Parsix 'Boss' ships with a brand new kernel based on Linux 2.6.26.8, with extra patches and drivers. The live CD compression system has been upgraded to version 3.4 which brings higher compression rate, Unionfs is default for live CD mode. Several bugs have been fixed and many packages updated. Highlights: GNOME 2.24.2, GNU Iceweasel 3.0.5, GParted 0.4.1, Pidgin 2.4.3, OpenOffice.org 2.4.1, Compiz Fusion 0.7.8, VirtualBox OSE 2.0.6 and GNU Flash Player 0.8.4." Read the release announcement and release notes for further information. Download: parsix_2.0r0-test-1-i386.iso (641MB, MD5), parsix_2.0r0-test-1-amd64.iso (653MB, MD5).

Warren Woodford has announced the availability of the first release candidate for SimplyMEPIS 8.0: "ISO files of RC1 of SimplyMEPIS 8.0 have been released for 32-bit and 64-bit processors. The kernel in RC1 has been updated to upstream version 2.6.27.10 and the wl wireless driver has been updated to improve reliability. Some minor changes have taken place "under the hood" to address issues that were reported by individual testers. Warren Woodford, the builder of SimplyMEPIS, says: 'There have been lots of good updates from the upstream Debian developers. I know they are working very hard to finalize the release of Lenny, which is the foundation for SimplyMEPIS 8.0.'" Here is the brief release announcement. Besides the new SimplyMEPIS release candidate, the project has also announced the availability of the first test of MEPIS antiX, a lightweight distribution for older computers. Download the CD images from here: SimplyMEPIS-CD_7.9.94-rc1_32.iso (657MB, MD5), SimplyMEPIS-CD_7.9.94-rc1_64.iso (651MB, MD5), antiX-M8-public-test1.iso (389MB, MD5).

pfSense 1.2.1, a maintenance and bug-fix update of the FreeBSD-based mini-firewall system, has been released: "The pfSense team has a Christmas present for you all - the 1.2.1 final release. The only changes since RC4: fixed problem preventing RIP from starting; fixed broken link in VLAN reboot notification; fixed problem with SSL certificate generation. This is a strictly a maintenance release, meaning it contains only bug fixes in the pfSense code, no new features. Though we also upgraded the base operating system from FreeBSD 6.2 to 7.0, which necessitated numerous changes in how things were configured. The change to FreeBSD 7.0 brings improved performance and more hardware support." Read the complete release announcement for further information. Download the installation CD from here: pfSense-1.2.1-LiveCD-Installer.iso (49.2MB, MD5).

Fabio Erculiani has announced the release of Sabayon Linux 4: "On the behalf of the Sabayon Linux team, we're pleased to announce the immediate availability of Sabayon Linux 4. Bringing a more accessible, easy-to-use and fast way of doing business and home computing in a web 2.0 flavour is what we are going to achieve by the beginning of the new year. Sabayon Linux 4 offers an easy-to-use and attractive desktop coming with thousands of tools and applications, such as effortless connections to any kind of wireless network, web and multimedia applications (Java, Flash player, Google Earth, Picasa), browsers (Firefox, Opera, Konqueror), instant messaging clients (Pidgin, Kopete, aMsn), multimedia and playback tools (Elisa media centre, GeeXboX, VLC, SMPlayer), productivity tools (OpenOffice.org, AbiWord, GNU Calc, Kontact, Adobe Reader). Technically, Sabayon Linux 4 has been completely rebuilt on top of GCC 4.3, for i686 (32-bit) and x86_64 (64-bit) architecture." Here is the full release announcement. Download: Sabayon-Linux-x86-4.iso (3,960MB, MD5, torrent), Sabayon-Linux-x86_64-4.iso (4,282MB, MD5, torrent).

Ken Smith has announced the second release candidate for FreeBSD 7.1: "FreeBSD 7.1-RC2 is now available, the second of the release candidates. Unless an as yet undiscovered show-stopper comes along the release itself will be anywhere from a week to two weeks from now. We might be doing it next week since the release test cycle has gone on for quite a while now and the latest thing that delayed the release was a security advisory (SAs don't typically get or need much in the way of public testing). The traffic we're seeing on the lists and in Gnats is certainly stuff we'll pay attention to and deal with but isn't quite severe enough to warrant further delaying an already severely delayed release." Read the rest of the release announcement for more information and update instructions. Download: 7.1-RC2-i386-dvd1.iso.gz (1,809MB, MD5), 7.1-RC2-amd64-dvd1.iso.gz (1,807MB, MD5).

Jean-Philippe Guillemin has announced the availability of the first beta release of Zenwalk Linux 5.4, a Slackware-based desktop distribution: "The first beta of Zenwalk Linux 5.4 is ready for testing. This beta version is a good preview of the upcoming Zenwalk 5.4, as we are mostly waiting for Xfce 4.6 final. The most important changes: Linux kernel 2.6.27.10 with gspca (supports many USB webcams); Xfce 4.6-beta2; faster boot; PAM authentication has been added to the system; wicd has become the main network configuration tool; improved suspend and hibernate with Xfce power manager; new Netpkg with orphan dependencies and 'offline operation' support; new Zenpanel with integrated disk manager, WiFi and wired network manager; Gksu keyring based desktop granting system; new artwork; many new applications." Here is the full release announcement. Download: zenwalk-5.4BETA1.iso (462MB, MD5).

Adam Williamson has announced the availability of the first alpha release of Mandriva Linux 2009.1, now shipping with KDE 4.2 beta 2: "The first pre-release of Mandriva Linux 2009.1 is now available. This alpha concentrates on updating to the major desktop components of the distribution, including KDE 4.2 beta 2, GNOME 2.25.2, Xfce 4.6 beta 2, X.Org server 1.5, and kernel 2.6.28-rc8. It is also the first distribution to introduce the major new Tcl/Tk release, 8.6. The alpha is available only in the DVD 'Free' edition with a traditional installer and no proprietary applications; future pre-releases will add the live CD 'One' edition with proprietary drivers. Please help test this first pre-release and report bugs to Mandriva." Read release announcement and release notes for more details. Download: mandriva-linux-free-2009.1-alpha-dvd-i586.iso (4,451MB, MD5), mandriva-linux-free-2009.1-alpha-dvd-x86_64.iso (3,903MB, MD5).

Stefan Lippers-Hollmann has announced the release of sidux 2008-04, a desktop distribution with KDE 3.5 or Xfce based on Debian's unstable branch: "After fixing the problem with multiple optical disc drives, which occurred in our first preview, and quite some infrastructural changes, we now have the pleasure to announce the immediate availability of sidux 2008-04 'Pontos'. Pontos concentrates on integrating the changes caused by kernel 2.6.27, init optimisations accomplished by insserv and, in particular, overhauling the installer. Features: based on Debian 'sid' as of 2008-12-22; Linux kernel 2.6.27.10 (SMP, hard pre-emption); X.Org 7.3; KDE 3.5.10; new SVG-based, art theme; offline manual for English and German directly on the disc, online manuals for more languages online; support for Intel P4x, G4x and Q4x chipsets...." Read the detailed release notes for further information and a list of supported hardware. Download: sidux-2008-04-kde-i386-amd64.iso (1,950MB, MD5), sidux-2008-04-xfce-i386.iso (385MB, MD5), sidux-2008-04-xfce-amd64.iso (390MB, MD5).

Robert Lange has announced the availability of the first release candidate for VectorLinux 6.0: "The VectorLinux development team is proud to announce the first release candidate of VectorLinux 6.0. This release is the result of the excellent bug reporting feedback from members of our community. We have tried to squash most of the bugs reported and add some additional polish to the default theme and the GUI installer. The installer has gone through many rewrites, we think you will find many improvements both in design and execution. We have updated several software packages and have added the all-new slapt-get notifier which automatically notifies the user via a tray icon that software updates are available. The browser plugins have been updated to the latest Flash 10 and MPlayer Plugin. Firefox, Opera, Seamonkey, gFTP, Pidgin and our own Vl-hot have all been updated." Read the rest of the release announcement for more details. Download: VL6.0-STD-RC1.iso (699MB, MD5).

Ben Zhao has announced the release of CDlinux 0.9.0, a compact live CD with Xfce as the desktop environment: "CDlinux 0.9.0 has been released. This is a development release, considered a major step towards CDlinux 1.0. There are many changes and enhancements over the last release, including: support for 'persistent mode', auto save and restore user changes; support for printing; support for booting directly from ISO image; Samba client and printing support; support for Java; a new boot splash; a revised and more efficient package management system. And many package upgrades including: Linux kernel 2.6.27.10, glibc 2.8, X.Org 7.4 (xorg-server 1.5.3), Xfce 4.4.3, Firefox 3.0.5." Here is the complete release announcement. Download the larger Community edition or the smaller Standard edition from here: CDlinux_CE-0.9.0.iso (190MB, MD5), CDlinux-0.9.0.iso (59.0MB, MD5).

Anil Gulecha has announced the availability of the first beta release of Nexenta Core Platform (NCP) 2.0, a free and open source distribution combining the OpenSolaris kernel with Ubuntu userland: "This is to announce availability of Nexenta Core 2.0 beta - an Ubuntu/OpenSolaris native environment (unstable 'Hardy' branch). The packages are relatively stable, and we've thus moved NCP to beta, and aim for a stable release early next year. Release highlights: OpenSolaris build 104+ with critical patches; over 6000 packages in the repository, and autobuilder; based on Ubuntu 8.04 LTS 'Hardy Heron' repository; includes latest APT, GCC, Binutils, Coreutils, Perl, Python, Ruby, Qt libraries, GTK+ libraries; SMF support added for server applications like Apache, MySQL, PostgreSQL, Exim; includes apt-clone which brings ZFS power to apt-get." Here is the complete release announcement. Download: nexenta-core-platform_2.0-b104-beta1_x86.iso.zip (436MB).

Carlos La Borde has announced the release of iMagic OS 2009, a commercial Linux distribution based on Ubuntu 7.10: "After months of development and design, iMagic OS 2009 is ready! Nine new features: new window design - a new refreshing theme washes away all traces of iMagic OS 7.0; web applications - now, you can split web software like GMail, Google Docs, YouTube, iMagic OS Downloads, and CNR right out of the web browser and run them just like normal applications; OpenOffice.org support - Now runs OpenOffice.org much better; educational software - now includes more educational software that will help you and your children; BitTorrent software - More BitTorrent software brings you more pre-loaded choice, and lets you handle torrents more easily; improved boot time - thanks to some boot re-profiling, boot up time is now diminished by over 10 seconds on most present-day computers; sample tutorials...." Read the rest of the release announcement for further information. iMagic OS 2009 is available for purchase from the project's online store (US$85.00).

Steve Langasek has announced the availability of the second alpha release of Ubuntu 9.04 "Jaunty Jackalope": "The Jaunty Jackalope Alpha 2 is the second alpha release of Ubuntu 9.04, bringing with it the earliest new features for the next version of Ubuntu. New features: packages -- applications and software of all kinds -- are being updated at a rapid pace; the latest X.Org server, version 1.6, is available; includes the 2.6.28-3.4 kernel based on 2.6.28-rc8. Known issues: The binary ATI and NVIDIA proprietary drivers and are not yet supported for this server and will exhibit various serious issues if run against it; choosing the 'encrypt home' option on the Ubuntu server or alternate CD will cause the installation to fail at user setup time...." Read the release announcement and visit the features page on Ubuntu Wiki to find out more. Interested beta testers can download (MD5 the desktop CD images from here: jaunty-desktop-i386.iso (692MB, torrent), jaunty-desktop-amd64.iso (698MB, torrent). Also released today were alpha 2 desktop and alternate CD images for Kubuntu 9.04 and alternate CD images for Xubuntu 9.04.

Tilman Sauerbeck has announced the release of CRUX 2.5, a minimalist, i686-optimised Linux distribution for advanced users: "Twelve months after the last release, today we published CRUX 2.5. Release notes: includes glibc 2.8, GCC 4.3.2, Binutils 2.19, Linux kernel 2.6.27.8 and X.Org 7.4; glibc does not contain all possible locales any more; the runtime linker configuration has been greatly simplified by adding a configuration directory /etc/ld.so.conf.d; GCC depends on libgmp and libmpfr now, both have been added to core; a new port inetutils replaces inetd, netkit-ftp and netkit-telnet; hotplug has been removed because it wasn't in use since a long time; libpcre has been added to core; slocate has been replaced by mlocate; cdrtools has been replaced by cdrkit." See the release announcement, release notes and handbook for more information. Download: crux-2.5.iso (258MB, MD5).

Rubén RodrÃ­guez Pérez has announced the release of Trisquel GNU/Linux 2.1, a 100% "libre" distribution based on Ubuntu and recommended by the Free Software Foundation (FSF): "We are very proud today to announce the release of the 2.1 version of Trisquel GNU/Linux in its three editions, including, for the first time, the education-oriented branch along with the domestic and enterprise ones. From this release on, the three editions include the linux-libre kernel, and lots of small improvements have been made to improve the user experience and other aspects such as security and performance. All these upgrades can be applied over an existing installation using the automated update system." Read the release announcement for further details. Download: trisquel-2.1-i686.iso (692MB, MD5, torrent), trisquel-2.1-amd64.iso (703MB, MD5, torrent).

Jani Monoses has announced the release of Kiwi Linux 8.12, an Ubuntu remix with multimedia support, designed mostly for Romanian and Hungarian users: "Kiwi Linux 8.12 is a desktop CD based on Ubuntu 8.10 for the x86 architecture. It contains packages necessary for playing restricted multimedia formats by default and supports the SpeedTouch 330 USB ADSL modem. The list of available languages is English, French, German, Hungarian and Romanian. Differences between Ubuntu 8.10 and Kiwi Linux 8.08: packages up to date as of 2008-12-15; added Wubi; OpenOffice.org 3.0 with up to date Romanian translation; GUI for pppoeconf; a graphical tool for restoring GRUB boot menus lost after installing other operating system; Evolution removed; Flash plugin and GStreamer codecs for restricted audio and video formats...." Read the rest of the release notes for further details. Download (MD5): kiwi-8.12.iso (703MB, torrent).

Vagner Rodrigues has announced the release of Litrix Linux 9.0, a Gentoo-based Brazilian live DVD. According to the release announcement, Litrix Linux 9.0 is designed as a general-purpose distribution that can be used in live mode or as a complete operating system installed run from a hard disk. It contains a good mix of applications for both work and entertainment. The main components of the new release include: Linux kernel 2.6.27, KDE 3.5.9 desktop environment, OpenOffice.org 3.0 office suite, Mozilla Firefox 3.0 web browser, The GIMP 2.6 image manipulation program, WINE 1.0 - a translation layer for running Windows applications on Linux, support for Portuguese and English languages, newly added OpenLDAP. Please visit the distribution's revamped home page (in Portuguese) to read the brief release announcement. Download (MD5) the live DVD image from here: litrix-9.0.iso (1,293MB).

Patrick Verner has announced the release of Parted Magic 3.3: "This release of Parted Magic offers better support for video drivers and adds NFS. gFTP was also added and a few other core packages have been upgraded. The contents of the USB version have been altered to clean things up a bit. All GRUB files are in /boot/grub and all syslinux files are in /boot/syslinux. You will need to alter your syslinux command syntax or move the configuration file back to the root of the USB drive." From the changelog: "Downgraded to xorg-server to version 1.4.2; added DHCP 3.0.7; added gFTP 2.0.19; updated NTFS-3G to version 1.5130, udev to version 135, GParted to version 0.4.1, BusyBox to version 1.13.1; added Portmap 6.0 and nfs-utils 1.1.2." Read the full release announcement and changelog for further information. Download: pmagic-3.3.iso.zip (51.7MB, MD5).

Magic Linux is a Chinese community distribution loosely based on Fedora. Version 2.1, released yesterday, is mostly a bug-fix release with updated applications. Code-named "Houyuan", the new release comes with the following components and features: Linux kernel 2.6.25.20 witch glibc 2.3.6 and GCC 3.4.6; X.Org server 1.5.2 with KDE 3.5.8 as the default desktop; a collection of popular KDE applications, including Amarok and Kaffeine. Some of the changes since RC3 include a variety of localisation fixes for better support for Chinese, upgrade to WINE 1.1.8 and minor updates to HAL and udev. For more information please see the release announcement (in Chinese), which also contains a planned feature list for the upcoming release of Magic Linux 2.5. Download the installation DVD image from here: MagicLinux-2.1.Houyuan.dvd-1.iso (947MB, MD5).

Clement Lefebvre has announced the release of Linux Mint 6, code name "Felicia": "The team is proud to announce the release of Linux Mint 6 'Felicia'. Based on Ubuntu 8.10 'Intrepid Ibex', Linux 2.6.27, GNOME 2.24 and X.Org 7.4, Linux Mint 6 comes with a brand new software manager, FTP support in mintUpload, proxy support and history of updates in mintUpdate, mint4win (a Windows installer), tabbed browsing in Nautilus and a lot of other improvements." Besides the main edition, the project has also announced a new Linux Mint 6 "Universal" edition, a complete Linux Mint live DVD with support for dozens of languages, but without any media codecs (these can be installed separately). Consult the release announcement and feature overview for system requirements, known issues and upgrade instructions. Download: LinuxMint-6.iso (664MB, MD5).

Attila Crăciun has announced the release of Bluewhite64 Linux 12.2, an unofficial port of Slackware Linux to the x86_64 architecture: "Bluewhite64 Linux 12.2 brings new features and important updates since the previous release. Some of them includes new Linux kernel 2.6.27.7 with advanced features and a new feature to install Bluewhite64 Linux via Samba shares. Also, this release includes newly added packages like pm-utils (power management utilities), SQLite 3.6.6.2 (simple, self contained database engine) and wich (wired and wireless network manager for Linux). Some of the updated packages include KDE 3.5.10 and Xfce 4.4.3 desktop environments, Mozilla Firefox 3.0.4 and SeaMonkey 1.1.13 web browsers, and Mozilla Thunderbird 2.0.0.18 and KMail 1.9.9 email clients." Read the rest of the release announcement and release notes for additional details. Download: Bluewhite64-12.2-install-dvd.iso (4,083MB, MD5, torrent).

Stefan Lippers-Hollmann has announced the availability of the first pre-release of sidux 2008-04, a distribution and live CD based on Debian's unstable branch: "After some infrastructural changes. sidux 2008-04 is now ready to enter the preview season. It concentrates on integrating the changes caused by kernel 2.6.27, init optimisations accomplished by insserv, and in particular overhauling the installer. ... Starting with this release, sidux is using "insserv" to reorder and optimise the SysV init scripts used during the system boot. Release highlights: Debian 'sid' as of 2008-12-14; Linux kernel 2.6.27.9 (SMP, hard pre-emption); X.Org 7.3; KDE 3.5.10; new SVG-based art theme." Read the rest of the release notes for more details. Download: sidux-2008-04-pre1-kde-i386.iso (451MB, MD5), sidux-2008-04-pre1-kde-amd64.iso (456MB, MD5), sidux-2008-04-pre1-xfce-i386-amd64.iso (684MB, MD5).

The second beta release of GeeXboX 1.2, a bootable Linux-based multimedia centre, is ready for testing: "Here comes the second beta release of GeeXboX 1.2. There are no major changes in terms of features, but the distribution is now much more stable. Most of the corrections took place at the driver level, as many people encountered some issues with hardware support. The few PowerPC users that still exist will also be pleased to know that we've manage to resurrect the port to this architecture. Changelog: upgrade Linux kernel to 2.6.27.9; massive firmware upgrades, fixes many driver loading issues; update uClibc to 0.9.30; restore PowerPC architecture support; update X.Org server to 1.5.3; add HAL support, X.Org now uses evdev/XInput to handle input devices; upgrade MPlayer to r28089; native RealVideo 10 decoder...." Visit the project's home page to read the complete release announcement. Download: geexbox-1.2-beta2-en.i386.glibc.iso (18.9MB), geexbox-1.2-beta2-en.x86_64.glibc.iso (20.3MB).

Adonay Sanz Alsina has announced the release of K-DEMar 4.7, a Debian-based distribution and live CD designed primarily for Catalan and Spanish speakers. The biggest change is the switch to Linux-Live scripts for building the CD image, with the "copy to RAM" support and improved speed of loading applications. Other improvements: update to KDE 3.5.9; new desktop artwork and theme; improved installer with documentation; new desktop icons for launching the hard disk or USB media installer; inclusion of CSS-Miami, a WYSIWYG web site creator and editor for KDE; a new one-click GRUB bootloader restore function; updated kernel 2.6.27.6 optimised for the i686 architecture and with better support for wireless networks and webcams; many updated applications, including WINE 1.1.10, various bug fixes. Read the rest of the release announcement (in Spanish) for more details. Download: K-DEMar_V4.7_Lyra.iso (699MB, MD5).

Tomáš Matějíček has announced the release of Slax 6.0.9, a live CD based on Slackware Linux: "The newest Slax, version 6.0.9, has been released. It fixes the problems with Unsquashfs, which appeared in the previous version. Moreover, it updates Slax to the latest Slackware 12.2, with kernel 2.6.27.8." From the changelog: "Upgraded Samba; added libcap; fixed a bug in Unsquashfs (lzm2dir) which happened on SMP machines; removed bluez* packages; upgraded to KDE 3.5.10; upgraded to Squashfs 3.4, including the tools; added support to start Slax as a PXE server; loadlin didn't work any more due to big file size of vmlinuz and initrd, it has been replaced by linLd, which allows to boot Slax from DOS again; auto-detect and auto-mount LVM partitions...." See the release announcement and changelog for more information. Download: slax-6.0.9.iso (190MB, MD5).

ASPLinux, a Russian company developing Linux solution and providing a variety of Linux services, has announced the release of ASPLinux 14, code name "Cobalt". The latest version of this Fedora-based distribution promises to expand the functionality of Linux as an operating system with new services, such as Linux telephony, support for webcams, full support for sleep and stand-by modes on laptops, automatic network setup, and easy configuration of GPRS, CDMA and VPN services. The product uses Linux kernel 2.6.26 and glibc 2.8, and ships with X.Org server 1.5, GNOME 2.22, KDE 4.1, OpenOffice.org 3.0, Firefox 3.0 and other popular open source applications. It also includes several non-free device drivers, including ATI and NVIDIA graphics drivers, and non-free software, such as Adobe Flash player and Opera. For further information please see the ASPLinux product page (in Russian). The installation DVD is available for download from here: ASPLinux-14-i386-DVD.iso (3,994MB, MD5, torrent).

Kris Moore has announced the release of PC-BSD 7.0.2, the second bug-fix update of the user-friendly desktop operating system based on FreeBSD 7: "The PC-BSD Team is pleased to announce the availability of PC-BSD 7.0.2, with an updated FreeBSD 7.1-PRERELEASE under the hood and the latest KDE 4.1.3. Version 7.0.2 contains a number of bug fixes and improvements. Some of the changes are: KDE 4.1.3; improved desktop performance with NVIDIA cards; improved NTFS write support; HAL fixes and improvements; installation bug fixes. This version of PC-BSD can be downloaded and installed as a fresh install or, alternatively, can be updated to from PC-BSD 7.0.1 via the System Update tool or via a stand-alone PBI." See the release announcement and changelog for further details. Download (MD5) the installation DVDs from here: PCBSD7.0.2-x86-DVD.iso (1,622MB), PCBSD7.0.2-x64-DVD.iso (1,647MB).

Patrick Volkerding has announced the release of Slackware Linux 12.2: "Well folks, it's that time to announce a new stable Slackware release again. Since we've moved to supporting the 2.6 kernel series exclusively (and fine-tuned the system to get the most out of it), we feel that Slackware 12.2 has many improvements over our last release (Slackware 12.1) and is a must-have upgrade for any Slackware user. Among the many program updates and distribution enhancements, you'll find two of the most advanced desktop environments available today: Xfce 4.4.3 and KDE 3.5.10. Slackware 12.2 uses the 2.6.27.7 kernel bringing you advanced performance features such as journaling file systems, SCSI and ATA RAID volume support, SATA support, Software RAID, LVM (the Logical Volume Manager), and encrypted file systems." Read the rest of the release announcement for more details. Download: slackware-12.2-install-dvd.iso (3,962MB, MD5, torrent).

TinyMe 2008.1, a minimal, but expandable desktop Linux distribution based on PCLinuxOS, has been released: "KDulcimer is proud to announce the birth of TinyMe 2008.1 'Droplet'. Weighing in at a small 150 MB, this slimmed-down offshoot of PCLinuxOS gives you a very minimal, very fast and lightweight, yet powerful and easily expandable Linux desktop. If you want a system where you choose your own programs, yet customization is easy, 'Droplet' is perfect for you. Features: SLiM to log you in; PCLinuxOS control center to configure your system; Synaptic to install programs and keep your system up to date; PCManFM, file and desktop manager; TinyCC to configure the desktop; Openbox, a window manager; LXPanel to keep track of the windows you have open; Nano, a command-line text editor." The full release announcement is available at the project's latest release page. Download: TinyMe-2008.1-Droplet.i586.iso (150MB, MD5).

Guardian Digital has announced the release of EnGarde Secure Linux 3.0.22, a server distribution featuring a comprehensive web-based administration tool: "Guardian Digital is happy to announce the release of EnGarde Secure Community 3.0.22. This release includes many updated packages and bug fixes and some feature enhancements to the EnGarde Secure Linux installer and the SELinux policy. New features include: several improvements to the backup and restore module in WebTool - we've added a help page, made several improvements to the layout of the module to make it easier to use, and enhanced the 'Perform Backup Now' functionality by running it in the background and sending an email upon completion; support for USB serial devices, such as Keyspan USB serial adapters; the latest stable versions of BIND (9.4.3), Dovecot (1.1.6), Linux kernel (2.6.27), OpenLDAP (2.4.12), Squid (3.0.STABLE10)." Read the release announcement and release notes for more details. Download (MD5): engarde-community-3.0.22.i686.iso (636MB, torrent), engarde-community-3.0.22.x86_64.iso (644MB, torrent).

Ken Smith has announced the availability of the first release candidate for FreeBSD 7.1: "FreeBSD 7.1-RC1 is now available, the first of the release candidates. There will be at least one more release candidate before the release so the release itself is likely around three weeks from now - if no new show-stoppers are uncovered during testing. In addition to general testing, we're looking for information about potential problems with the boot loader. And a late arrival that's not possible to test without the packages, sysinstall's issues with excessive disc swapping when installing large sets of packages off the CDROMs should be fixed. Testing to make sure that's working would be appreciated." Read the release announcement for more known issues and binary/source upgrade instructions. Download: 7.1-RC1-i386-dvd1.iso.gz (1,808MB, MD5), 7.1-RC1-amd64-dvd1.iso.gz (1,806MB, MD5).

Marcos Guglielmetti has announced the availability of an updated release of Musix GNU+Linux, a Debian-based distribution featuring a large collection of free audio software: "After three months of testing, the stable release of Musix GNU+Linux live DVD 1.0R6 is out. It's a 100% free operating system for artists focused on music production, graphics design and video editing, based on Debian 'Etch' and KNOPPIX. Some packages were upgraded since Musix live DVD 1.0R4, the knoppix-installer fonts now look good, an old kernel 2.6.16 from Musix 0.99 was added to support old hardware. Also, there are many backports made by the Musix team; we highlight LMMS, Jackd, Mscore, Rosegarden and Ardour. This DVD is used daily in music schools, so we know what teachers and students need." Here is the brief release announcement. Download: Musix1.0R6.iso (2,479MB, MD5).

Warren Woodford has announced the sixth beta release of SimplyMEPIS 8.0: "ISO files of the sixth and last anticipated beta of SimplyMEPIS 8.0 are available for 32 and 64 bit processors. In beta 6, the kernel has been updated to upstream version 2.6.27.7 and the extra drivers have been rebuilt for the new kernel. This kernel release fixes an error in the last release that resulted in the tg3 driver being disabled. An 'Alternate' CD boot selection has been added in response to feedback that this provides a workaround for a problem that some users have had when trying to boot from CD. Flash has been updated to version 10 and there have been several updates to the MEPIS Assistant applications in response to suggestions from the community." Read the rest of the release announcement for further information. Download: SimplyMEPIS-CD_7.9.93-beta6_32.iso (612MB, MD5), SimplyMEPIS-CD_7.9.93-beta6_64.iso (686MB, MD5).

Steven Shiau has announced the availability of an updated release of Clonezilla Live, a free Debian-based live CD containing Clonezilla, a partition and disk cloning software similar to Norton Ghost: "Clonezilla live 1.2.1-23 (stable) released. This is a bug-fix version with some minor updates: based on Debian 'Lenny' repository on 2008-12-08; kernel 2.6.26-11; some typographic errors in en_US were fixed; added HexEdit and cryptsetup; serial number of disk is shown when saving partitions; Clonezilla now will honor the boot parameter ocs_pre_run, and it will be run during boot-up; '-b' option was added to restore mode; new gPXE 0.9.6; bug fixed - list of locales in ocs-live-hook.conf without comma; bug fixed - when creating recovery ISO/ZIP file with 'ocs-sr -x', the 'reboot, shutdown, none' option was asked twice." Here is the full release announcement. Download: clonezilla-live-1.2.1-23.iso (92.3MB).

Stephan Rickauer has announced the release of BSDanywhere 4.4, a live CD based on the latest stable version of OpenBSD: "We are pleased to announce the immediate availability of BSDanywhere 4.4 - Enlightenment at your fingertips. As always, we release our OpenBSD based images in two flavours: i386 (32bit) and amd64 (64bit). Here's a quick summary of the not-to-intense changes since 4.3: removed packages: GIMP, AbiWord, Audacious, Mutt, rsnapshot, Darkstat - we are really limited in space that's why we decided to concentrate on the primary focus of BSDanywhere, which is hardware testing and system rescue; added packages: Dnstop, dnstracer; we now enabled 'machdep.kbdreset' which permits console CTRL-ALT-DEL to do a nice halt; new artwork." Read the rest of the release announcement for further information. Download (MD5): bsdanywhere44-i386.iso (612MB), bsdanywhere44-amd64.iso (683MB).

Sergei Mozhaisky has announced the release of Frenzy 1.1, a FreeBSD-based toolkit for system and network administrators. This, according to the developer, will be the project's last release: "At last, Frenzy 1.1 is released. This is a final release of Frenzy, I decided to discontinue the development of this project." What's new? "Added Unionfs support; introduced FEM (Frenzy Extension Modules) system, which allows to plug-in additional software without rebuilding ISO image; Frenzy can now be booted from ISO image on hard drive; added options to boot with DMA disabled on ATAPI or ATA devices; added parameters to loader menu - 'mode' to choose resolution in console mode, 'sound' for sound card auto-detection, 'nofem' to disable FEM modules search and loading; added feature to use FAT partition as boot partition; bug fixes." Read the detailed release notes for a complete list of changes and new features. Download (MD5) the English or Russian edition from here: frenzy-1.1-std-EN.iso (199MB), frenzy-1.1-std-RU.iso (197MB).

Robert Lange has announced the availability of the second beta release of VectorLinux 6.0: "The VectorLinux development team is proud to announce the second beta release of VectorLinux 6.0. We have worked hard to debug the first beta release based on reported bugs, and we have also refined the look and feel with a brand new theme. The GUI installer is just about there - more feedback is welcome. This release features the 2.6.27.7 kernel with the latest wireless drivers and firmware updates. The default window manager is Xfce, with LXDE as an alternate. We have the latest Firefox, Opera and SeaMonkey with all the media codecs and Flash so all the web and personal media content is available out of the box. We have some of the all-time favorite games, including Penguin command, Pysol and Xgalaga. The latest stable Perl 5.10 has also been added." Here is the complete release announcement. Download: VL6.0-STD-B2.iso (691MB, MD5).

Barry Kauler has announced the release of Puppy Linux 4.1.2, the latest update to the 4.1 series of the popular mini-distribution: "Puppy 4.1.2 released. Puppy 4.1.2 is a bug-fix release for 4.1 and 4.1.1. In summary, I fixed a bug when looking for USB drives at boot-up, ohci-hcd USB driver was not loading in the initial ramdisk so some interfaces were not working at that stage, bug fix for .deb package extraction, /tmp/version clean-up fix at version upgrade, Pmetatagger bug fix, some modem detection improvements, tweak for network connection at boot-up, can now load 3 SFS files, fixed a Pmount crash, prevented invalid RAM-save-interval, fixed recognition of PCMCIA in the initrd." Read the release announcement and release notes for further information. Download: puppy-4.1.2-k2.6.25.16-seamonkey.iso (94.4MB, MD5), puppy-4.1.2retro-k2.6.21.7-seamonkey.iso (94.8MB, MD5).

An updated version of SystemRescueCd, was released today. What's new? "Updated the standard kernels to Linux 2.6.27.7 with Reiser4; updated the alternative kernels to Linux 2.6.27.7 with Reiser4; updated Squashfs with LZMA support (kernel driver and tools) to version 3.4; updated GParted to version 0.4.1; updated the Memtest86+ floppy disk image to version 2.10 (Memtest86+ boot entry); updated NTFS-3G to version 1.5130 (NTFS full read-write support); FSArchiver to version 0.1.6 (tool to backup Linux file systems); backported ext4 file system support from Linux 2.6.28-rc; added ISCSITarget and Core-iSCSI-tools version 3.5; fixed bug with the permissions which prevents thttpd from working; fixed bug in the PXE network boot to get a dynamic address." Here is the complete changelog. Download (MD5): systemrescuecd-x86-1.1.3.iso (241MB).

The second public beta release of PCLinuxOS 2009 is out and ready for testing: "The Ripper Gang is pleased to announce the second public beta ISO release of what will ultimately become PCLinuxOS 2009. This beta features Linux kernel 2.6.26.8, KDE 3.5.10, OpenOffice.org 2.4.1, Firefox 3.0.4, Thunderbird 2.0.0.17, Frostwire, KTorrent, Amarok, Flash, Java JRE, Compiz Fusion 3D and much more. We request that only our more experienced PCLinuxOS users test this beta release. Testers are advised to install this beta into a separate partition for temporary use only. This, and any subsequent beta ISO images are considered static installs and will not be upgradeable to the 2009 final, so please don't install this with the idea of using it long-term as a work station." Here is the full release announcement with a list of up-to-date download mirrors. Get the installable live CD from here: PCLinuxOS-N1PTT-TR5.iso (690MB, MD5).

Patrick Volkerding has announced that the development branch of Slackware Linux has reached release candidate status: "While there are still some documents that need updating and probably a few more tweaks and updates here and there, everything is mostly in place for the next stable release, Slackware Linux 12.2. The versions of major components like X.Org and the kernel can be considered frozen. Anything major that we haven't done yet will probably wait for the release after this next one. As Slackware 12.2 is only a 0.1 version bump, we're trying to focus on making it better without causing instability or losing compatibility with Slackware 12.1 wherever possible. Invasive changes like the new X.Org (that will require changes to xorg.conf) and merging KDE 4 should probably wait for Slackware 13.0. We will call this batch Slackware 12.2 release candidate one." Read the updated Slackware current changelog for more information. As always, Slackware doesn't publish ISO images of release candidates, but unofficial DVD images, built weekly from the current tree, are available at ftp.slackware.no; download the latest one from here: slackware-current-02_Dec_2008-DVD.iso (3,616MB, MD5).

The OpenSolaris project has updated its web site to reflect the release of OpenSolaris 2008.11, the project's second stable release. The final live CD remains unchanged from the second release candidate (RC2), so users who have downloaded the RC2 don't need to re-download the final release. "The OpenSolaris 2008.11 operating system is a point of integration for the installation, desktop, and package management system projects on OpenSolaris.org. Today, the OpenSolaris 2008.11 live CD is available with the following feature updates: ZFS Time Slider and Songbird; suspend/resume and CPU power management; Distribution Constructor and Prototype Automated Installer; WebStack with 64-bit MySQL, CherryPy, and DTrace for Ruby; GNOME 2.24, OpenOffice.org 3.0, and Firefox 3; Many F/OSS applications added, including top, sudo and Emacs; 700 additional man pages and Package Manager online help." Visit the project's home page to read the release overview; the more detailed release notes are available here. Download: osol-0811.iso (687MB, MD5, torrent).

Michael Prokop has announced the release of grml 2008.11, a Debian-based live CD with a collection of GNU/Linux software especially for users of text tools and system administrators: "grml version 2008.11 has been released and is currently being uploaded to the mirrors. What's new? New grml-scripts: grml-chroot - wrapper around chroot with proc/sys/pts/dev file system handling; swspeak-setup - activating software speak(up) features. The grml-live build system: several new packages in the different flavour classes; improved error handling; improved checks for LZMA for different Squashfs tools; automatically activate grml-testing repository for development releases and daily snapshots. Special new features: integration of vcs_info within Zsh prompt; moved from syslog-ng to rsyslog...." Read the full release announcement and release notes for more details. Download: grml_2008.11.iso (674MB, MD5, torrent), grml64_2008.11.iso (694MB, MD5, torrent).

Volker Theile has announced the availability of the second release candidate for FreeNAS 0.69, a FreeBSD-based operating system providing free Network-Attached Storage (NAS) services: "This will hopefully be the last release candidate before a stable release can be published. So please test this version and report any problems. Changes: upgrade to FreeBSD 6.4-RELEASE; add system firewall, please note that this is only for the local system and not for the network (this will also never be implemented, use pfSense or m0n0wall instead); upgrade Transmission to 1.40; introduce new WebGUI look (also fixes some MSIE rendering bugs); add UPS service WebGUI option to define shut-down mode; add option 'Use sendfile' to 'Services CIFS/SMB Settings'; check if configured port is already used (e.g. UPnP, BitTorrent, DAAP); fix web server security hole...." Read the full release announcement for more details. Download: FreeNAS-i386-LiveCD-0.69RC2.iso (60.0MB, MD5), FreeNAS-amd64-LiveCD-0.69RC2.iso (65.4MB, MD5).

Tilman Sauerbeck has announced the availability of the first release candidate for CRUX 2.5, a minimalist, i686-optimised Linux distribution built for power users: "The first release candidate for the upcoming CRUX 2.5 release is available now. Release notes: includes glibc 2.8, GCC 4.3.2 and Binutils 2.19; Linux kernel 2.6.27.x; ships with X.Org 7.4; glibc does not contain all possible locales any more, see handbook; the runtime linker configuration has been greatly simplified by adding a configuration directory /etc/ld.so.conf.d; GCC depends on libgmp and libmpfr now, both have been added to core; a new port inetutils replaces inetd, netkit-ftp and netkit-telnet; hotplug has been removed because it wasn't in use since a long time; libpcre has been added to core; slocate has been replaced by mlocate; cdrtools has been replaced by cdrkit." Read the release announcement and release notes for more information. Download: crux-2.5-rc1.iso (258MB, MD5).

Patrick Verner has announced the release of Parted Magic 3.2, the latest version of another distribution specialising in hard disk partitioning: "Parted Magic 3.2. This is mostly a bug-fix release for the 3.x series with a few new features. Some of the new updates include GParted 0.4.0, Linux kernel 2.6.27.7, Xarchiver 0.5.1, dc3dd 6.12.2, and hdparm 9.2. Jason fixed the disk wiping program and some other issues were addressed as well. The newest and most powerful new feature is 'installpkg' from Slackware Linux. You can now add programs to Parted Magic by simply adding them to the pmodules directory and booting the machine. Parted Magic automatically installs them at boot. There are several tested TGZ packages available in the forum for download. Make sure you change the tmpfs_size= boot parameter to allow more RAM for your additional packages." See the release announcement and changelog for additional information. Download the CD images from here: pmagic-3.2.iso.zip (47.5MB, MD5).

A new stable version of GParted LiveCD, a Debian-based specialist distribution with a collection of hard disk management utilities, has been released. What's new? "This release is a bug-fix release with some minor updates; based on Debian 'Lenny' on 2008-11-27, Linux kernel 2.6.26; a program called MC_HxEd was added; package cryptsetup was added; instead of entering X window automatically, we can choose to configure xorg.conf first; new mechanism to start GParted LiveCD; two more boot parameters gl_numlk and gl_capslk were added to control numlock and scrlock; ifupdown and dhcp3-client were added; bug fixed - PartImage was missing." See the release notes for more details. At the same time, the project has also announced a new testing release of GParted LiveCD 0.4.0-1, with the newly released GParted 0.4.0 and Linux kernel 2.6.26. Download the CD images from here: gparted-live-0.3.9-13.iso (94.9MB), gparted-live-0.4.0-1.iso (94.9MB).

FreeBSD 6.4, a new stable version of the project's legacy 6.x branch, has been released: "The FreeBSD Release Engineering team is pleased to announce the availability of FreeBSD 6.4-RELEASE. At this time 6.4-RELEASE is expected to be the last of the 6-STABLE releases. Some of the highlights: new and much-improved NFS Lock Manager (NLM) client; support for the Camellia cipher; boot loader changes allow, among other things, booting from USB devices and booting from GPT-labeled devices with GPT-enabled BIOSes; DVD install ISO images for amd64 and i386; KDE updated to 3.5.10, GNOME updated to 2.22.3; updates for BIND, Sendmail, OpenPAM, and other packages." Read the release announcement and release notes for further information. Download (torrents): 6.4-RELEASE-i386-dvd1.iso.gz (1,738MB, MD5), 6.4-RELEASE-amd64-dvd1.iso.gz (1,720MB, MD5).

Philip Newborough has announced the release of CrunchBang Linux 8.10.01, an Ubuntu-based distribution featuring the light-weight Openbox window manager and GTK+ applications: "The final build of CrunchBang Linux 8.10.01 is now available. This is the third release of the distribution and as the version number suggests, it is based on Ubuntu Intrepid Ibex. As with previous releases, 8.10.01 has been built from scratch using the Ubuntu minimal CD. What's new? As well as being based on the latest version Ubuntu, this release sees a number of changes: a new darker theme; tablaunch has been removed; dmenu has been included; some additional default shortcut keys added, including main menu, logout and dmenu; OpenOffice.org replaced by AbiWord and Gnumeric; AcidRip removed; Twitux replaced by Gwibber; Mirage replaced by GPicView; VLC removed in favour of Totem, VLC is now a Qt 4 application; GNOME Power Manager enabled by default." Read the release announcement and release notes for more information. Download (MD5): crunchbang-8.10.01.i386.iso (666MB).

Robert Lange has announced the availability of the first beta release of VectorLinux 6.0: "The VectorLinux development team is proud to announce the first beta release of VectorLinux 6.0. The big news is that VectorLinux has a new GUI installer for the first time! This was built from the ground up and not a rehash of any of the other GUI installers. This release features the 2.6.26.8 kernel, with the latest wireless drivers and firmware updates. The default window manager is Xfce with LXDE as an alternate. We have the latest Firefox, Opera and SeaMonkey with all the media codecs and Flash so all the web and personal media content is available out of the box. For light office work you will find the latest AbiWord and Gnumeric. The included multimedia applications are the latest MPlayer, Xine, K3b and VLC." Here is the full release announcement. Download: VL6.0-STD-B1.iso (633MB, MD5).

The Elive project continues its rapid release cycle of development builds that will eventually lead to Elive 2.0. The latest version is 1.9.18: "The Elive team is proud to announce the release of the development version 1.9.18. This version includes a greatly improved new kernel and a lot of upgraded packages. Changes: Network Configurator is now perfectly usable and stable; Firefox bookmarks have been updated with new entries - a good list of GIMP links and tutorials, a big list of articles about Elive since its first version, and also some about EFL development; Linux kernel updated to version 2.6.26.8; all the currently available wireless drivers have been added, including the newest ath9k for Atheros cards; the bug about the WEP encryption in MacBooks has been finally solved using the new ath9k driver included on this kernel." Read the complete release announcement for further information. Download: elive_1.9.18_unstable.iso (680MB, MD5).

Greg Kurtzer has announced the release of Caos Linux NSA 1.0, a light-weight, stable and secure distribution of Linux for servers, compute nodes and network appliances: "The Caos team of developers and contributors from Infiscale are proud to announce the public release of Caos Linux NSA version 1. Caos Linux is a community-managed and openly-maintained distribution of Linux focusing on areas where Linux naturally leads and excels: high performance computation (HPC), servers (especially LAMP and general web), and custom appliances (such as file servers and firewalls). This release identifies the stabilization and validation of the core operating system, fully tested on some of the world's fastest public and private systems and architectures. Careful tweaking and optimizations have resulted in a very streamlined, light-weight operating system still suitable for a large spectrum of uses, from simple desktops to petaflop supercomputers." Read the rest of the release announcement for more details. Download (mirror list): caos-nsa-1.0.i386.iso (584MB, MD5), caos-nsa-1.0.x86_64.iso (653MB, MD5).

The Fedora project has announced the release of Fedora 10: "The Fedora Project, a Red Hat sponsored and community-supported open source collaboration project, today announced the availability of Fedora 10, the latest version of its free, open source operating system distribution. This release includes the premiere of a new graphical boot system called Plymouth, designed to speed up the boot process by taking advantage of a new kernel mode setting feature. Fedora 10 also features increased hardware support for a vast array of webcams, and better handling of printers via both direct physical connections and networks. Further, PackageKit, a software management tool that originally debuted in Fedora 9, has been extended in this release to provide on-demand codec software installation." Read the press release and check out the detailed release notes for more information. Download (mirror list): F10-i686-Live.iso (681MB, SHA1, torrent), F10-i686-Live-KDE.iso (679MB, SHA1, torrent), F10-x86_64-Live.iso (684MB, SHA1, torrent), F10-x86_64-Live-KDE.iso (684MB, SHA1, torrent).

The government of Extremadura (Spain) has announced the availability of a beta release of gnuLinEx Lenix, a Debian-based distribution customised for use in schools and government offices around the region. The new version includes many productivity applications for office, Internet, graphics design and multimedia use. It is compatible with Debian GNU/Linux and is freely distributable. Among the most important changes in this release are numerous bug fixes, a variety of new device drivers, and the inclusion of the brand new OpenOffice.org 3.0. The release is currently only available as an installation DVD, but a live edition is expected shortly. Please read the full release announcement (in Spanish) for further information. Interested beta testers can download the installation DVD image from here: gnulinex-lenix-beta4.iso (1,547MB, MD5).

Greenie Linux is an Ubuntu-based distribution customised for Slovak and Czech users. A new version, now based on "Intrepid Ibex", was announced earlier today: "A new version of Greenie Linux, based on Ubuntu 8.10 'Intrepid Ibex' is here! Main changes: Greenie is now based on Ubuntu 8.10, with new versions of the included applications and improved hardware support. Greenport has been re-written, it's easier to use even for beginners. Also, Bash aliases have been updated. Tutorials and drivers for most common modems from LinuxOS.sk are also included. Two Greenie extra menus, called 'Green apple' (experimental) and 'Red apple' (root) now work better and have new functions. Some of the popular programs in Greenie include: MPlayer, VLC, Audacious, Banshee, Firefox, Opera, Inkscape, GColors, WINE and many others, all in their newest versions." Visit the project's news page to read the complete release announcement. Download from here: greenie-4i.iso (687MB, MD5).

Linux From Scratch (LFS) is a free book that provides instructions for compiling a basic Linux operating system from scratch, offered primarily as an educational tool for those who wish to learn more about Linux internals. A brand new version was released today: "The Linux From Scratch community is pleased to announce the release of LFS version 6.4. This release includes numerous changes to LFS 6.3, including update to Linux kernel 2.6.27.4, GCC 4.3.2, glibc 2.8, and security fixes. It also includes a large amount of editorial work on the explanatory material throughout the book, improving both the clarity and accuracy of the text." Visit the project's news page to read the brief release announcement. The complete LFS 6.4 book is available for online viewing, but it can also be downloaded as a complete HTML document: LFS-BOOK-6.4-HTML.tar.bz2 (176kB).

Colin Watson has announced the first alpha release of Ubuntu 9.04, code name "Jaunty Jackalope": "Welcome to Jaunty Jackalope Alpha 1, which will in time become Ubuntu 9.04. The primary changes from Intrepid have been the re-merging of changes from Debian. We've also been spending some time getting the new ARM port up and running, although its build daemons are still catching up so installable images will have to wait for a future alpha release. This is the very first roughly working set of images off the production line, and they haven't all been tested, so you should expect some bugs. Prominent among these are that some of the images are oversized and can only be tested using a DVD or a virtual machine, and that the desktop CD isn't ready yet! This release consists only of the alternate and server CDs; the desktop CD will follow in the next Alpha release." Here is the full release announcement. Download (MD5) the installation CD images from here: jaunty-alternate-i386.iso (699MB), jaunty-alternate-amd64.iso (700MB). Also released today were the 9.04 alpha 1 images for Kubuntu (download), Xubuntu (download), Ubuntu Studio (download) and Mythbuntu (download).

SME Server 7.4, a CentOS-based specialist distribution for servers, has been released: "The SME Server development team is pleased to announce the release of SME Server 7.4. This release is based on CentOS 4.7. Other major changes in this release are the use of dar for backups and the change to UTF-8, along with translation to six additional languages. All SME Server users should upgrade to this release. Changes: fix GRUB label to keep consistent with the SME Server brand; introduce a web interface to configure the pseudonym 'visible' property; fix the ugly log messages (Use of uninitialized value) when spam checking results in 0 hits; emails sent to a null address without the username part are now rejected; support for sending mail to ISP via secure SMTP; enable the auth plugin for local LAN connections; migrate ordb.net from the RBL lists to prevent mail bouncing...." Read the full release notes for further information. Download: smeserver-7.4-i386.iso (587MB), MD5).

David Comay has announced the availability of the second release candidate for OpenSolaris 2008.11: "The OpenSolaris development package repository has been updated to reflect the changes in snv_101b, including major fixes to the Caiman 'Slim Install' and the Image Packaging System (IPS). This build is the second release candidate build for the OpenSolaris 2008.11 release. For this build, the recommended minimum memory size is 512 MB or greater. Users who wish to update their system to the development build can do so using the 'image-update' facility provided by the pkg(1) command or by the 'Update All' facility of the Package Manager GUI. This build includes the latest NVIDIA graphics driver, version 177.80. This updated driver no longer supports a number of legacy chipsets. When updating systems with such chipsets, one can either remove the file /etc/X11/xorg.conf, or to continue using an accelerated driver, legacy SVR4 packages are available." Read the complete release announcement for further information and known issues. Download: osol-0811-rc2.iso (687MB, MD5).

Chris Buechler has announced the availability of the second release candidate for pfSense 1.2.1, a FreeBSD-based firewall system: "pfSense 1.2.1-RC2 is now available for testing. This is the first official release candidate of 1.2.1, and we believe it eliminates all regressions that have been found since the first 1.2.1 snapshots were made available four months ago. Plus it fixes several bugs in 1.2. The changes from the 1.2 release: numerous changes to accommodate differences in FreeBSD 7.0; multi-WAN bug fix; bridging bug fix - problem with the way firewall rules were being applied to bridging could lead to strange behavior in some bridging scenarios; captive portal bug fix - imported from m0n0wall, related to MAC authentication with RADIUS; keep state change - the newer pf version changed to defaulting to keep state; NAT reflection bug fix; mobile IPsec fixes...." Here is the full release announcement. Download: pfSense-1.2.1-RC2-LiveCD-Installer.iso (49.2MB, MD5).

Astaro has announced the availability of a public beta release of Astaro Security Gateway (ASG) 7.4: "Astaro would like to invite you to participate in the 7.4 beta test program. Our new release introduces many new and exciting things that you have asked us for. We've listened, and you will now have functions such as HTTPS scanning and WAN link balancing. The following new features are being introduced: scan and filter HTTPS content; block programs that use HTTPS to circumvent or tunnel around the proxy filters; make full use of multiple Internet connections; automatically balance traffic; create detailed rules for what traffic should use which gateway; automatically fail-over across prioritized connections when needed; balance and use more than just two connections..." Read the full release announcement for a complete list of new features. Download: asg-7.350-081120-2.iso (476MB, MD5).

Fixstars, a company that has recently acquired Terra Soft Solutions, has announced the release of Yellow Dog Linux 6.1: "Fixstars today released Yellow Dog Linux (YDL) 6.1 for Apple G4/G5, Sony PlayStation 3, PowerStation, and IBM Power Systems. Built upon the CentOS foundation, a derivative of Red Hat Enterprise Linux, YDL 6.1 offers several end-user and development tool improvements. For end users, YDL 6.1 offers an updated Firefox and OpenOffice.org, a vastly improved graphical wireless configuration tool, and the introduction of ps3vram functionality which enables use of PS3 video RAM for temporary storage or swap. For developers, 6.1 offers the latest stable kernel, an updated GCC, the open portion of the IBM Cell SDK v3.1, and through a working relationship with the Barcelona Supercomputing Center, YDL 6.1 now ships with the new Cell Superscalar." Read the complete press release for more information. Yellow Dog Linux 6.1 is available for download from YDL.net enhanced accounts (US$69.95).

Mandriva has announced the release of Mandriva One 2009, Xfce edition, an unofficial live CD featuring the Xfce desktop: "The Mandriva community is proud to offer another Xfce edition to the users. This edition is not a Mandriva product (so do not expect any kind of support directly from Mandriva), but has been completed with a great cooperation between the company and the community. We tried our best to provide the best experience possible using Xfce Live but so far some issues still stand. We do not consider those issues blocking, but we'd rather mention them here so you know what to do in case you encounter those problems. This edition contains bug fixes as available on the mirrors on 23 October, which should solve some installations and usage issues." Read the rest of the release notes with details about the known issues. Download: mandriva-linux-one-xfce4-int-cdrom-i586.iso (632MB, MD5).

Alexey Sokolov has announced the availability of the second release candidate for TrueBSD 2.0, a general-purpose FreeBSD-based live DVD. What's new? "Updated system environment and kernel to FreeBSD 7.1-PRERELEASE; fixed errors in system installer which were caused by incorrect detection of storage drives; created an official Subversion repository; created a non-official port of x11-wm/ion-3; created an overlay of the ports tree; changed the file system hierarchy; created skel files which are used for each new user; created a ports tree with patched versions of software; created a kernel module snd_hda_hack.ko for additional Intel audio card support; new prompt for the zsh shell; removed all network and audio drivers from the kernel and moved them into separate kernel modules; created nice highlighting for system console and kernel messages; updated all software." Read the rest of the release notes for more details. Download (MD5): truebsd-2.0rc2_i386.iso (1,978MB).

BlankOn Linux is a distribution created in cooperation between the Indonesian Linux User Group and the Indonesian Ubuntu community. Its primary goal is to deliver a desktop-oriented Linux distribution with full support for the Indonesian language. The latest version, 4.0 "Meuligoe", is based on the recently released Ubuntu 8.10, with Linux kernel 2.6.27 and GNOME desktop 2.24. Some of the features incorporated in the release include: popular GNOME applications, such as The GIMP, Inkscape and GnuCash are included in the default install; out-of-the-box support for MP3 and other widely-used media codecs, as well as encrypted DVDs; custom theme and artwork. The release is available in three formats: as an installable live CD, as an installation CD, and as a minimal live CD (with AbiWord and Gnumeric replacing OpenOffice.org and Epiphany replacing Firefox). Please read the release announcement and release notes (both links in Indonesian) for further information. Download the installable live CD from here: blankon-4.0-cdlive-i386.iso (676MB, MD5, torrent).

Strictly speaking, this is a release candidate for the Debian installer only, but since the release includes a full set of Debian "Lenny" CD and DVD images, it is perfectly suitable for testing the entire distribution. From the announcement: "The Debian Installer team is proud to announce the first release candidate of the installer for Debian GNU/Linux 'Lenny'. Improvements in this release: improved support for live CD installation media; support for some NAS devices based on Marvell's ARM-compatible Orion chip; installer images for Netwinder have been added again; installer images for i386 Xen guests; support for hardware speech synthesis has been added; upgrade of packages early in pkgsel, for example to get available security updates for base system packages; support for loading firmware from (removable) media during the installation...." Read the rest of the release announcement for more information. Quick download links to the i386 and amd64 "netinst" CD images: debian-testing-i386-netinst.iso (150MB, MD5), debian-testing-amd64-netinst.iso (132MB, MD5).

Steven Shiau has announced the release of Clonezilla Live 1.2.1-17, a Debian-based live CD designed for hard disk cloning and partitioning tasks: "Clonezilla live 1.2.1-17 (stable) released. This release is based on Debian 'Lenny' with Linux kernel 2.6.26. Changes: a simplified Chinese interface was added; an option to reboot or shutdown after clone is finished was added; hardware and software information is saved in a Clonezilla image; an option to generate MD5 or SHA1 checksums after an image is saved was added; running on serial console ttyS0 is supported; some more information will be saved in image directory; when restoring an image, image name and target device are chosen first, then advanced parameters; a new option '-z1p' was added to support parallel gzip program (pigz) to compress image for SMP machines; machine product name is shown before restoring image...." Read the release announcement and release notes for more details. Download: clonezilla-live-1.2.1-17.iso (91.7MB).

Glenn Cady has announced the release of Ultimate Edition 2.0, a desktop distribution and live DVD based on the recently released Ubuntu 8.10: "Ultimate Edition 2.0 has been released. Ultimate Edition 2.0 is built based on Ubuntu Intrepid Ibex, it is loaded to the hilt with themes, wallpapers, icon sets, GDM login screens, and usplashes. If you have a 64-bit processor I highly recommend the 64-bit edition. This release has all the goodies you have come to love with previous editions pre-added and a few new ones. It has a newer kernel and all updated as of release date pre-installed for your convenience. Compiz Fusion works right off the live DVD without drivers." Read the full release announcement for further details. Download (MD5) the DVD images from here: ultimate-edition-2.0-x86.iso (1,676MB), ultimate-edition-2.0-x64.iso (1,706MB).

The Elive development team has announced the availability of a new development build of Elive, a Debian-based distribution featuring Enlightenment 17 as its preferred desktop: "The Elive team is proud to announce the release of Elive development version 1.9.15. This version includes better support for MacBooks and a much better network configuration tool. MacBooks - the MacBook support has been overhauled, fixing some bugs like the installation and the webcam support. Wireless and networking - our new application to configure networks called Net-Connector is in a pretty good shape. All the known bugs are fixed and the auto-connect mode seems to be working properly. Since there are no known remaining bugs on it, we invite you to find new ones." Here is the brief release announcement. Download: elive_1.9.15_unstable.iso (673MB, MD5).

Warren Woodford has announced that the fifth beta build of SimplyMEPIS 8.0, a desktop distribution based on Debian "Lenny", has been released: "SimplyMEPIS 8.0 beta 5 updates several packages. ISO files of the fifth beta of SimplyMEPIS 8.0 are available for 32-bit and 64-bit processors. In this release the kernel has been updated to upstream version 2.6.27.5 and the extra drivers have been rebuilt for the new kernel. GRUB has been updated to 0.97. It is hoped that this will resolve the problems a few users have reported with not being able to access a bootable CD. The core of MEPIS is being kept in sync with the upcoming Debian stable release, Lenny. Recently, NSPluginWrapper 1.0.0, VirtualBox-OSE 2.0.4, OpenOffice.org 3.0.0, and Firefox 3.0.3 were updated in SimplyMEPIS and in the MEPIS 8.0 pool." Here is the brief release announcement. Download: SimplyMEPIS-CD_7.9.92-beta5_32.iso (667MB, MD5), SimplyMEPIS-CD_7.9.92-beta5_64.iso (686MB, MD5).

The first beta release of TinyMe 2008.1, a minimalist distribution based on PCLinuxOS, is now ready for testing: "The first beta for TinyMe 2008.1 has been unleashed! While TinyMe 2008.0 was a great release, we're trying to make TinyMe even smaller. Thus, TinyMe 2008.1 is an effort to try to get TinyMe down to a bare-bones 150 MB ISO image. What's new for this test release? Live CD size is down to target size; switched from GDM to SLiM; put some of the artwork in place; a lot of wireless and networking stuff has been put back in. What still needs to be done? Fill in any missing wireless drivers; get keyboard selection on live CD boot to come back; re-instate TinyCC; get GRUB splash and bootsplash artwork in place; look at 2.6.22.x kernel." Read the rest of the release announcement for more details. Download: TinyMe-2008.1.beta-1.i586.iso (149MB, MD5).

Clement Lefebvre has announced the availability of the first release candidate for Linux Mint 6, now based on the recently released Ubuntu 8.10: "Linux Mint 6 'Felicia' RC1 released! Based on Ubuntu 8.10 'Intrepid Ibex', Linux kernel 2.6.27, GNOME 2.24 and X.Org 7.4, Linux Mint 6 comes with a brand new software manager, FTP support in mintUpload, proxy support and history of updates in mintUpdate, tabbed browsing in Nautilus and a lot of other improvements. Highlights: mintInstall 5, the software manager with a new offline front-end, support for multiple portals, versions information; mintUpdate 3, a brand new update manager with a new GUI, history of applied updates, proxy support, improved stability; mintUpload 2 with FTP support; mintNanny - minimal parental control...." Read the release announcement and release notes for further information. Download (MD5): LinuxMint-6-RC1.iso (662MB).

Fabio Erculiani has announced the release of Sabayon Linux 3.5.1: "Sabayon Linux has released an update for the 3.5 branch. The primary focus of this release is to provide a version that is current with the Entropy repository for the 3.5 branch. This will alleviate the updating that is currently necessary after installing Sabayon Linux 3.5. Since this is primarily a maintenance release, Sabayon Linux recommends that users who already have an installed version of Sabayon Linux 3.5 wait for the release of Sabayon Linux 4.0 to update their installations. Distribution features: Linux kernel 2.6.26 with extended wireless, laptop (UMPC, like Eee PC), file system (Unionfs, Aufs, Squashfs, ext4, NTFS-3G) support; out-of-the-box hardware detection, input devices, GPUs, wireless; outstanding easy-to-setup 3D desktop, gaming support, thanks to Compiz Fusion 0.7.8 and a set of free top-tier games included or available; X.Org server 1.4.2 (7.3), KDE 3.5.10, GNOME 2.22.3, Entropy 0.23.8." Read the rest of the release announcement for more details. Download: Sabayon-Linux-x86-3.5.1.iso (4,168MB, MD5, torrent), Sabayon-Linux-x86_64-3.5.1.iso (4,199MB, MD5, torrent).

David Comay has announced the availability of the first release candidate for OpenSolaris 2008.11: "The OpenSolaris development package repository has been updated to reflect the changes in snv_101 and snv_101a including major fixes to the Caiman 'Slim Install' and the Image Packaging System (IPS). This build is an initial release candidate build for the OpenSolaris 2008.11 release. For this build, the recommended minimum memory size is 768 MB or greater. Users who wish to update their system to the development build can do so using the 'image-update' facility provided by the pkg(1) command or by the 'Update All' facility of the Package Manager GUI. For important information about 'image-update', see the instructions. Important note: The development builds have undergone limited testing and users should expect to uncover issues as the next release is developed. Bug reports and requests for enhancement are welcome." Read the detailed release announcement for further information and known issues. Download (MD5): osol-0811-101a-rc1b.iso (682MB, torrent).

ComFusion is an Ubuntu-based live DVD featuring out-of-the-box support for a variety of Compiz Fusion effects and a Mac OS X-like user interface. The latest version, 2.0, was announced today. Built from Ubuntu 8.04, ComFusion 2.0 brings a choice of two desktop environments - GNOME 2.22.1 (default) and Xfce 4.4.2, both with complete support for Compiz effects and with a Mac OS X-style Wbar for quick access to popular applications. Other features include enhanced support for wireless network cards, a variety of Compiz Fusion utilities and scripts for downloading restricted media codecs, inclusion of several Google Applications, Skype and other non-free software, a collection of games, office and development software, support for English, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish languages. For more information please read the release notes (in Spanish) which provides a detailed list of included applications and other features. Download (MD5): comfusion2.zip (1,392MB).

Sun Microsystems has announced the availability of an update build of Solaris 10, release 10/08: "Sun announced the latest version of the Solaris 10 operating system - Solaris 10 10/08. The new version builds on the core strengths of the Solaris 10 to help customers maximize asset usage and systems performance, manage datacenter complexity, preserve business continuity and reduce costs. Solaris 10 10/08 includes numerous product updates and enhancements, several of which were done through the OpenSolaris community. New features in Solaris 10 10/08: the ZFS file system has been enhanced with recent work from the OpenSolaris community; Solaris 10's virtualization technologies, such as Solaris Containers, have been enhanced with new features; Sun and Intel continue to collaborate to help ensure Solaris 10 will support Intel's latest Intel Xeon processor line." Read the release announcement and press release for further details. CD and DVD images of Solaris 10 10/08 are available for free download from Sun Microsystem's download page (registration required).

Ken Smith has announced the availability of the second release candidate for FreeBSD 6.4: "The second release candidate for FreeBSD 6.4 is now available. FreeBSD 6.4-RC2 should be the last of the public test builds for the FreeBSD 6.4 release cycle. Unless a big show-stopper is found from this round of testing we should begin the 6.4-RELEASE builds in about a week and a half. We encourage you to test out 6.4-RC2 and report any problems by submitting PRs or via email to the freebsd-stable list. One of the things that could use some testing is the late-arriving patches to sysinstall that should eliminate the excessive disc swapping that previous releases had if things like GNOME or KDE were installed as part of the initial CD-ROM install." Read the full release announcement for more details. Download: 6.4-RC2-i386-disc1.iso (585MB, MD5), 6.4-RC2-amd64-disc1.iso (650MB, MD5).

Miklós Vajna has announced the first preview of what will eventually become Frugalware Linux 1.0, the project's 10th stable release: "The Frugalware developer team is pleased to announce the immediate availability of Frugalware Linux 1.0pre1, the first technical preview of the upcoming 1.0 stable release. A short and incomplete list of changes since 0.9: the first Frugalware installer front-end landed in the package repository, yes, a graphical one, initial 'ppc' port, it has been actively tested on Apple boxes: iBook/Power Macintosh models, but IBM hardware is not yet supported; support for having a 32-bit chroot on x86_64 has now arrived; this release should install and run fine on ASUS Eee PC models; package updates - Linux 2.6.27 + security fixes, GCC 4.3.2, GNOME 2.24.1, OpenOffice.org 3.0." Read the full release announcement for additional details. Download (SHA1): frugalware-1.0pre1-i686-dvd1.iso (4,267MB, torrent), frugalware-1.0pre1-x86_64-dvd1.iso (4,272MB, torrent).

After more than one year of development, the first beta version of GeeXboX 1.2, a free embedded Linux distribution which aims at turning a computer into an HTPC (Home Theater PC) or a Media Center, was released: "As told at the time of the 1.1 release, the major change is X.Org inclusion. This was a lot of work but this allows GeeXboX to fully support wide screens and all of the new HDTV monitors. Everything is auto-detected and configured and it should detect the best resolution that suits your monitor. Along with X.Org, come all of its video drivers. Say bye bye to VIDIX (as good as it was) and welcome to XVideo. This brings video acceleration to nearly all video cards in the wild. The whole distribution is now modularized to best detect your hardware and load only what is needed. Many drivers have been added and installation has been completely reworked for better usability. This version also has been optimized for various platforms like Eee PCs, EasyGate, and it brings official support to MacIntel computers." Read the full release announcement on the project's homepage. Download: geexbox-1.2-beta1-en.i386.glibc.iso (18MB, MD5).

Theo de Raadt has announced the release of OpenBSD 4.4, a BSD operating system with a strict security philosophy and advanced security features: "We are pleased to announce the official release of OpenBSD 4.4. This is our 24th release on CD-ROM (and 25th via FTP). We remain proud of OpenBSD's record of more than ten years with only two remote holes in the default install. As in our previous releases, 4.4 provides significant improvements, including new features, in nearly all areas of the system: new or extended platforms for sparc64, socppc, landisk; improved hardware support; new tools and functionality; assorted improvements and code cleanup; install and upgrade process changes; OpenSSH 5.1; over 4,500 ports, minor robustness improvements in package tools (Firefox 3, GNOME 2.20.3, Inkscape 0.46, KDE 3.5.8, OpenOffice.org 2.4.1, Xfce 4.4.2...." Read the release announcement and release information for a detailed list of changes and improvements. Download: i386/install44.iso (216MB, MD5), amd64/install44.iso (236MB, MD5).

Mythbuntu 8.10, a distribution featuring a standalone MythTV system and the last of the official Ubuntu variants, is now also available: "After a long and tedious process with many new features and bug fixes the Mythbuntu team is proud to introduce Mythbuntu 8.10 'Intrepid Ibex'. Features: Mythbuntu-log-grabber - this application grabs specific log files into a single area and can upload them to pastebin for easy troubleshooting; automatic partitioner now creates an XFS file system for recordings; mousepad, a graphical editor is now installed by default; Wubi now supports Mythbuntu; Apple trailer plugin is now packaged and available; web site now has link to Mythbuntu in the news. Changes from Mythbuntu 8.10 RC: Wubi now included on CD image; install documents for 8.10 included on CD image; Windows autorun now links to documentation and Wubi." Read the release announcement and release notes for further details. Download (MD5): mythbuntu-8.10-desktop-i386.iso (631MB), mythbuntu-8.10-desktop-amd64.iso (641MB).

Ubuntu Studio 8.10, a multimedia-oriented Ubuntu derivative, has been released: "The Ubuntu Studio team is proud to announce its fourth release: Ubuntu Studio 8.10. With this release, Ubuntu Studio offers a pre-made selection of packages, targeted at audio, video and graphics users. Ubuntu Studio greatly simplifies the creation of Linux-based multimedia workstations. For Ubuntu Studio 8.10 we have continued to update packages and fix critical bugs to improve the Ubuntu Studio user experience. We are sad to announce the real-time kernel won't be installed by default in Ubuntu Studio in this release. This means that for the time being, we recommend our users that depend on the real-time kernel to stay with 8.04. Features: new Ardour version; Audacity fully working; update of all software packages." Here is the full release announcement. Download (MD5): ubuntustudio-8.10-alternate-i386.iso (1,229MB, torrent), ubuntustudio-8.10-alternate-amd64.iso (1,246MB, torrent).

Next, the release of Xubuntu 8.10, a desktop distribution designed for users and fans of the Xfce desktop: "The Xubuntu team is happy to bring you the latest and greatest software the open source community has to offer. This is their latest result: Xubuntu 8.10, which brings a host of excellent improvements built on the rock solid Xfce 4.4.2 desktop environment. New Features since Xubuntu 8.04: newest AbiWord 2.6.4 word processor with tons of bug-fixes and new features; improved multimedia experience by including the Listen multimedia player; light-weight search front-end called Catfish; Seahorse - a GTK+ front-end for GnuPG; X.Org 7.4; Linux kernel 2.6.27; encrypted private directory; Network Manager 0.7; DKMS; Samba 3.2; PAM authentication framework; Totem BBC plugin...." Read the complete release announcement for further information. Download (MD5): xubuntu-8.10-desktop-i386.iso (589MB, torrent), xubuntu-8.10-desktop-amd64.iso (600MB, torrent).

Kubuntu 8.10, an Ubuntu variant featuring the latest KDE desktop version 4.1.2, has been released: "Today sees the release of Kubuntu 8.10 featuring the KDE 4 desktop. The Kubuntu developers have been hard at work, bringing you the latest and greatest software the open source community has to offer. KDE 4 reworks your system with a major new revision of the desktop. This Intrepid release lives up to its name by including many changes, but there are some features that are not yet available in KDE 4. If you would rather stay with what you know then remember that Kubuntu 8.04 is still fully supported, see KDE3-KDE4Migration and Is KDE 4.1 for you? for more information on deciding. You can try it first with the Kubuntu Intrepid Live CD to see for yourself whether or not it really is 'for you'." Read the detailed release announcement for additional details, list of features and known issues. Download (MD5): kubuntu-8.10-desktop-i386.iso (699MB, torrent), kubuntu-8.10-desktop-amd64.iso (696MB, torrent).

Red Hat has announced the availability of a beta release of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 5.3, the third update to the stable RHEL 5 series: "Red Hat is pleased to announce the availability of the beta release of 5.3 for the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 family of products. This beta release includes the following improvements: support for up to 126 CPUs in the x86_64 Hypervisor; support for up to 1 TB memory per host on x86_64; cluster mirror support (2-leg mirrors only); NetworkManager 0.7; updated graphics drivers; re-based CUPS (print server), now with full Kerberos support; initial implementation of userspace tracing; root and swap encryption support in the installer; hibernate / resume support with encrypted disks; SELinux enablement of new NetworkManager and audit functionality; re-based samba from 3.0.28 to 3.0.32 which supports Windows Vista...." Read the detailed release announcement for a comprehensive list of changes and known issues. This beta release is available to existing RHEL subscribers as an update via the yum update utility or as an ISO image download from Red Hat Networks.

GaÃ«l Duval has announced the availability of the first public development release of Ulteo Application System 2.00, a Kubuntu-based distribution with mobility tools, content synchronisation features and hundreds of desktop applications: "The new Ulteo Application System 'Polaris' is available for download as alpha software. Many applications are provided with the base-install (CD-R size) which includes Firefox and OpenOffice.org. Additional 'application balls' (desktop applications, games, etc.) can be added from the Ulteo panel once authenticated. They will download automatically from Ulteo servers. Extra language support can be added this way as well. Do not install the system with a separate /home or /boot partitions or it won't work." See the release announcement and release notes for more details. Download: ulteo-polaris-2.00alpha-2-install-i386.iso (694MB, MD5).

Warren Woodford has announced the availability of the fourth beta release of SimplyMEPIS 8.0, a beginner-friendly desktop Linux distribution based on Debian's testing branch: "ISO files of the fourth beta of SimplyMEPIS 8.0 are available for 32-bit and 64-bit processors. In this release the kernel has been updated to the upstream version 2.6.27.3 and the Broadcom wl driver is now available for wireless network cards. The MEPIS Network Assistant has been updated to address the incompatibility between the open source b4x drivers and the wl or NDISwrapper drivers." Here is the brief release announcement. Interested beta testers can download the live CD images from here: SimplyMEPIS-CD_7.9.91-beta4_32.iso (660MB, MD5), SimplyMEPIS-CD_7.9.91-beta4_64.iso (678MB, MD5).

Alexander Reichle-Schmehl has announced the availability of the fifth revision of Debian GNU/Linux 4.0 "Etch", a security and critical bug-fix update of the project's current stable release: "The Debian project is pleased to announce the fifth update of its stable distribution Debian GNU/Linux 4.0 (code name 'Etch'). This update mainly adds corrections for security problems to the stable release, along with a few adjustments to serious problems. Please note that this update does not constitute a new version of Debian GNU/Linux 4.0 but only updates some of the packages included. There is no need to throw away 4.0 CDs or DVDs but only to update via an up-to-date Debian mirror after an installation, to cause any out of date packages to be updated. Upgrading to this revision online is usually done by pointing the Aptitude (or APT) package tool to one of Debian's many FTP or HTTP mirrors." Read the full release announcement for a detailed list of changes and upgrade instructions.

The Dreamlinux development team has announced the fourth release candidate for Dreamlinux 3.5, a Debian-based distribution with a Mac OS X-like user interface: "After a lot of hard work and testing we are proud to announce the release candidate 4 which moves us one step closer to the end-of-the-year final release of Dreamlinux 3.5. There has been one major change and a few smaller changes, and a whole heap of updates. Dreamlinux is known for being slick and very fast, and unfortunately, GNOME appears to become slower and bulkier every release so it has been omitted. Main components: Xfce 4.4.2, wicd network manager, Linux kernel 2.6.27, X.Org 7.2, Compiz Fusion, OpenOffice.org 2.4, GIMP 2.6, Iceweasel 3.0.2, Flash Player 10. A few extra ideas are still being thrown around for the final release, so keep an eye out for more updates." Visit the project's user forum to read the full release announcement. Download: DL3.5-RC4_211008.iso (697MB, MD5).

Christoph Thiel has announced the third beta release of openSUSE 11.1: "The openSUSE project is proud to announce the availability of beta 3 of the 11.1 release. It's a few days late, but much better for the delay. Beta 3 is now available for immediate download and testing. Major changes in this release include: live CDs for x86 and x86_64 GNOME and KDE; OpenOffice.org 3.0; Mono 2.0 Final; Linux 2.6.27.1 (fixes e1000e issue); parts of 11.1 branding are now in place; GNOME 2.24. Installing openSUSE 11.1 beta 3 on Mac OS X machines should work fine. KVM is broken in this release due to a kernel configuration change before beta 3. OpenOffice.org 3.0 integration continues and should be much better in this release." Here is the full release announcement. Download: openSUSE-11.1-Beta3-KDE4-LiveCD-i386.iso (682MB, MD5, torrent), openSUSE-11.1-Beta3-GNOME-LiveCD-i386.iso (693MB, MD5, torrent). Full installation DVD images are only available via BitTorrent: openSUSE-11.1-Beta3-DVD-i386.iso (3,766MB), openSUSE-11.1-Beta3-DVD-x86_64.iso (3,952MB).

Alan Baghumian has announced the availability of the second revision of Parsix GNU/Linux 1.5, a desktop distribution and live CD based on Debian's testing branch: "The second maintenance release of Parsix GNU/Linux 1.5, code name 'Viola', is available now. Viola r2 is synchronized with Debian testing repositories as of July 24, 2008. This version contains several bug fixes, several updated packages and updated kernel drivers. Highlights: GNOME 2.22.3, GNU Iceweasel 3.0.3, Pidgin 2.4.3 and OpenOffice.org 2.4.1. Viola officially supports Compiz Fusion, VirtualBox-OSE and GNU Flash Player." Read the release announcement and release notes for more information. Download: parsix_1.5r2-i386.iso (684MB, MD5), parsix_1.5r2-amd64.iso (695MB, MD5).

Clement Lefebvre has announced the final release of Linux Mint 5 "Fluxbox" edition: "Linux Mint is proud to announce the release of Linux Mint 5 'Elyssa' Fluxbox Community edition. This edition, maintained by Shane Joe Lazar, brings you the best and most essential tools from the Main and Xfce editions on top of an extremely thin desktop and the lightweight Fluxbox window manager. New features: auto-generated and auto-updating Fluxbox menu, multimedia compatibility with all available codecs and plugins pre-installed, Thunar custom actions, better language and localization support, and attractive themes with a predominant green bias." Read the release announcement and release notes for further details. Download: LinuxMint-5-Fluxbox.iso (562MB, MD5).

Paul Cutler has announced the release of Foresight Linux 2.0.5, the first stable distribution featuring the recently released GNOME 2.24: "Foresight Linux 2.0.5 released. It features the latest GNOME 2.24 desktop environment, OpenOffice.org 3.0, and the latest X.Org server release, version 1.5.1." Some of the other new features in the distribution include a new time tracker applet, the Ekiga audio and video conferencing client 3.0, miscellaneous file manager improvements, an improved GNOME deskbar with new plugins, new screen resolution controls, Compiz Fusion 0.7.8 with new effects and translation updates, PulseAudio 0.9.12 with numerous bug fixes, and many other features. For more information please see the release announcement and release notes. Download (SHA1): foresight-2.0.5-x86-dvd1.iso (1,299MB, torrent), foresight-2.0.5-x86_64-dvd1.iso (1,398MB, torrent).

Kris Moore has announced the release of PC-BSD 7.0.1, the first bug-fix upgrade of the new 7.0 series: "After much hard work and testing the PC-BSD Team is happy to announce the availability of PC-BSD 7.0.1, the first upgrade in the 7 series, with FreeBSD 7.0 under the hood. Version 7.0.1 contains a number of bug fixes and improvements. Some of the changes are: KDE 4.1.2; AMD64 edition; NTFS write support; Adobe Flash 9 support (Linux -flashplugin9); better WiFi support; updates to the System Updater. This version of PC-BSD can be downloaded and installed as a fresh install or, alternatively, it can be updated to from PC-BSD 7.0 via the System Update tool." Read the release announcement and changelog for further information. Download (MD5): PCBSD7.0.1-x86-DVD.iso (1,615MB), PCBSD7.0.1-amd64-DVD.iso (1,638MB).

Warren Woodford has announced the third beta release of SimplyMEPIS 8.0: "The third beta of SimplyMEPIS 8.0 has been released for 32-bit and 64-bit processors. The only major change for this release is a switch to the recently released 2.6.27 kernel. Warren Woodford of MEPIS explains this unexpected move, 'In general, the 2.6.26 kernel was working well, but we knew of a couple of problems. The Intel e01000 series drivers needed to be updated and Aufs seemed to be a bit unstable. In 2.6.27 the Intel and kernel teams have addressed several Intel driver issues and, in my personal experience, Aufs seems to be stable again. As a bonus, 2.6.27 enhances support for IPv6, which we think will become more and more important during the life cycle of the 8.0 release.'" Here is the release announcement. Download: SimplyMEPIS-CD_7.9.90-beta_32.iso (659MB, MD5), SimplyMEPIS-CD_7.9.90-beta_64.iso (676MB, MD5).

Ken Smith has announced the availability of the second beta release of FreeBSD 7.1: "As the next step in the release cycle for FreeBSD 7.1 builds for FreeBSD 7.1-BETA2 are now available for testing. The ISO images and FTP install trees are available on the FreeBSD mirror sites. The amd64 and i386 sets include a preliminary set of packages, not what is expected to be included with the release itself. The biggest change is that kde-lite was used this time, while the full kde3 will most likely be used for the release. If you would like to do a source-based update to 7.1-BETA2 from an already installed machine you can update your tree to RELENG_7 using normal cvsup/csup methods. The freebsd-update utility supports binary upgrades of i386 and amd64 systems running earlier FreeBSD releases." Read the rest of the release announcement for further information. Download: 7.1-BETA2-i386-disc1.iso (552MB, MD5), 7.1-BETA2-amd64-disc1.iso (547MB, MD5).

Patrick Verner has announced the release of Parted Magic 3.1, a minimalist live CD with a collection of software for hard disk management tasks: "Parted magic 3.1 released with only minor changes from RC1. One of the most important new developments is the HDD edition. This is a new concept in rescue and partitioning environments. It's basically a copy and paste USB distribution for system administrators and is the future of the Parted Magic project. Version 4.0 will be largely based on Slackware Linux and will offer package management and most things you would expect from a small rescue environment. My honest opinion is the death of CDs and DVDs is closer than most people think and the dominance of Flash media with read-write is the future of any system administrator's toolbox. This forum post describes the new HDD edition." Visit the project's news page to read the release announcement. Download (MD5): pmagic-3.1.iso.zip (47.2MB), pmagic-usb-3.1.zip (47.2MB).

Mitsuhoro Kojima has announced the release of Plamo Linux 4.5, a Japanese community distribution modelled on Slackware Linux and designed for more technical Linux users. This is the project's first stable release in 12 months. Some of the new features in version 4.5 include: Linux kernel 2.6.25.17 with glibc 2.7 and GCC 4.2.4; X.Org 7.3; GNOME 2.22, KDE 4.1.0 and Xfce 4.4.2 desktops; split of packages into package sets (base, minimum, x11, xfce, gnome, kde, ooo, etc.); increase in system requirements; introduction of the ext4 file system (marked as ext4dev due to its experimental nature, ext4 is not compatible with ext3 and it isn't possible to mount ext3 partitions from an ext4 file system); user and group IDs (UID/GID) fixes. See the release announcement and release notes (both links in Japanese) for further details. Download the installation DVD image (Japanese only): plamo-4.5_dvd.iso (2,954MB, MD5).

The PCLinuxOS development team has announced the availability of the first public beta release of PCLinuxOS 2009: "The Ripper Gang is pleased to announce the first public beta ISO release of what will ultimately become PCLinuxOS 2009. This beta ISO features kernel 2.6.26.6, KDE 3.5.10, OpenOffice.org 2.4.1, Firefox 3.0.3, Thunderbird 2.0.0.14, FrostWire, KTorrent, Amarok, Flash, Java JRE, Compiz Fusion 3D and much more. We decided to use KDE 3.5.10 as our default desktop as we could not achieve a similar functionality from KDE 4. We will however offer KDE 4 as an alternative desktop environment available from the repository once we stabilize it. We request that only our more experienced PCLinuxOS users test this beta release and report any issues with it in the forum provided specially for it." Read the rest of the release announcement for more information and download links. Interested beta testers can get the CD image from here: PCLinuxOS-N1PTT-TR3.iso (651MB, MD5).

Stefan Wold has announced the availability of the source-based Lunar Linux 1.6.4 beta 1 installation ISO images: "Lunar Linux 1.6.4-beta1, code name 'Lacus Autumni', just became available. The 1.6.4 stable release is just around the corner and we hope it will please everyone. As mentioned in our previous announcement, X.Org and Xfce 4 had to be removed from the ISO as it was just not worth the effort to maintain them. Instead we can put that effort into further improving our installer and ISO quality. New features in 1.6.4: working software raid configuration; improved language selection; installation from a USB stick or other media; ships with kernel 2.6.27; ReiserFS, XFS and JFS are now also built-in with the pre-compiled kernels." Read the complete release announcement for a more detailed list of changes and features. Download: lunar-1.6.4-beta1-i686.iso.bz2 (296MB, MD5), lunar-1.6.4-beta1-x86_64.iso.bz2 (305MB, MD5).

Version 1.9.10 is the latest test release of Elive, a Debian-based distribution with a heavily customised Enlightenment 17 desktop: "The Elive team is proud to announce the release of the development version 1.9.10. This version doesn't include Exalt (a network configuration tool) any more, but there is a new application in Elpanel. Ibar is replaced by Itask-ng - Elive now has a zooming bar similar to the one in Mac OS X. It also has another feature enabled by default - 'lock icons', which prevents the user from removing icons accidentally. Vim color scheme hacks - the default color theme of Elive has been hacked for better development and coding. PDF printer - it is now possible to create PDFs from a page, document, or anything just by selecting to print to a PDF file in the printer menu. Networks - this version includes a new application called net-connector for configuring WiFi and wired connections." Read the rest of the release announcement for more details. Download: elive_1.9.10_unstable.iso (673MB, MD5).

Karanbir Singh has announced the release of CentOS 4.7 "Server CD", a single-CD, server-only edition of CentOS based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.7: "The single CD server install for CentOS 4.7 has now been released and is available from all active mirrors. Notes: this installer will only work with i686-based CPUs; the included packages are a subset of all packages available in the CentOS distribution, however yum has been pre-configured to use the entire repository; in order to ensure that drivers and other third-party applications maintain compatibility, the package set used on the Server CD is from release time CentOS 4.7, you are strongly encouraged to run a 'yum update' immediately after installation; the ISO size is lower than the 650 MB acceptable for a single CD - feedback on what other packages should be added or removed from this CD for the next release are welcome." Here is the complete release announcement. Download: CentOS-4.7.ServerCD-i386.iso (608MB, MD5, torrent), CentOS-4.7.ServerCD-x86_64.iso (618MB, MD5, torrent).

BSDanywhere is a new OpenBSD-based (non-installable) live CD consisting of an OpenBSD base system, graphical desktop (with Enlightenment 17), collection of software, and automatic hardware detection. The project's first stable release, version 4.3, was announced earlier today: "After eight months of work we're now ready to release the final version of BSDanywhere 4.3 - Enlightenment at your fingertips, the OpenBSD live CD. There aren't many changes since beta 3: we have removed bsd.rd to motivate people getting pure OpenBSD; we added more packages - besides Galculator, which has been integrated into the E17 menu, we have now mboxgrep, nemesis, NewsFetch, Queso, radiusniff, ScanSSH, Smtpscan, ssldump, stress and Stunnel; while releasing 4.3, we're also making our official artwork publicly available." Read the full release announcement for further details. Download (MD5): bsdanywhere43-i386.iso (636MB), bsdanywhere43-amd64.iso (694MB).

XO Software 8.2.0, a Fedora-based distribution designed for the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project's XO Laptop, has been released: "Announcing the general availability of XO Software release 8.2.0. Release 8.2 is based on a child-focused graphical interface called Sugar, a Fedora 9 Linux operating system and OLPC customized implementations of core software including power management, wireless drivers, NAND flash file system, Open Firmware, and other components. Major new features: an updated Home view and Journal with new options for finding and organizing activities; an enhanced Frame for collaborating with other XOs and switching between running activities; a graphical Control Panel for setting language, network, and power preferences...." Read the release announcement and release notes for more information and installation instructions. Download: xo-1-olpc-stream-8.2-ext3.img.bz2 (186MB, MD5), jffs2/os767.img (234MB, MD5).

Manuel Bouyer has announced the release of NetBSD 4.0.1, the first update of the stable NetBSD 4.0 branch: "The NetBSD Project is pleased to announce that update 4.0.1 of the NetBSD operating system is now available. NetBSD 4.0.1 is the first security/critical update of the NetBSD 4.0 release branch. This represents a selected subset of fixes deemed critical in nature for stability or security reasons, no new features have been added. NetBSD 4.0.1 runs on 54 different system architectures featuring 17 machine architectures across 17 distinct CPU families, and is being ported to more. The NetBSD 4.0.1 release contains complete binary releases for 51 different machine types." Read the detailed release announcement for further information. Download the installation CD images from one of the NetBSD mirrors or via BitTorrent. Quick links to the i386 and amd64 ISO images: i386cd-4.0.1.iso (242MB, MD5, torrent), amd64cd-4.0.1.iso (166MB, MD5, torrent).

The third release candidate for Magic Linux 2.1, a Chinese community distribution based on Fedora, is out and ready for testing. Changes since RC2: updated Linux kernel to version 2.6.25.17, X.Org to 7.4 (xorg-server 1.5.1), Mozilla Firefox to 3.0.3, Amarok to 1.4.10, ALSA to 1.0.18rc3, Wine to 1.1.4 (still no fix for the Chinese input problem); fixed a plugdev bug where additional users could not automount devices; Bluetooth fixes (manual daemon start-up is needed before using Bluetooth); known issue - the new 'ati' and 'nv' X.Org drivers do not always work correctly; experimental support for upgrading from RC2 with 'smart upgrade'; added stock GNOME 2.24 packages.... Read the full release announcement (in Chinese) for more information. Download the installation DVD image from here: MagicLinux-2.1.rc3.dvd-1.iso (949MB, MD5).

Anil Gulecha has announced the availability of the second alpha release of NexentaCore 2.0, a minimalist operating system comprising of a complete OpenSolaris kernel and runtime, along with Debian and GNU toolchains: "This is to announce availability of NexentaCore 2.0 Alpha 2 - Debian native OpenSolaris environment and platform. Release highlights: over 4,500 packages in the repository, this includes latest dpkg/APT, GCC, Binutils, Coreutils, Perl, Python, Ruby, Qt libraries, GTK+ libraries, KDE libraries, Fluxbox; based on Ubuntu 8.04 LTS 'Hardy Heron'; 100% native Debian environment, easy to upgrade, easy to use; OpenSolaris b85+ based (x86 32-bit and 64-bit, non-debug), with critical patches from b87, b88 and b90; includes Vim by default; includes apt-clone which brings ZFS power to apt-get." Here is the full release announcement. Download (MD5): nexenta-core-platform_2.0-b85-alpha2_x86.iso.zip (371MB).

Ken Smith has announced the availability of the first release candidate for FreeBSD 6.4, the project's production legacy branch: "As the next step in the release of FreeBSD 6.4, the FreeBSD 6.4-RC1 builds are now available for testing. This is the first of an expected two release candidates. We encourage you to test out the release candidates, reporting any problems by submitting PRs or via email to the freebsd-stable list. If you would like to do a source-based update to 6.4-RC1 from an already installed machine you can update your tree to RELENG_6_4 using normal cvsup/csup methods. Note that as a somewhat inconvenient side-effect of the primary FreeBSD source repository now being in SVN the creation of the RELENG_6_4 branch in the CVS repository wound up checking in a 'new' version of every file, in some cases only changing the FBSDID." Read the rest of the release announcement for more details. Download: 6.4-RC1-i386-disc1.iso (580MB, MD5), 6.4-RC1-amd64-disc1.iso (629MB, MD5).

After more than one year of development, the first beta of Hiweed Linux 2.0, a Chinese community distribution based on Ubuntu 8.10, was released. This version cannot be upgraded from the previous Hiweed 1.0 but can only be installed from scratch, and it does not include the brand new OpenOffice.org 3.0 so that the ISO image can be reduced to only 400 MB in size. Features: new Chinese TrueType font and new input method ibus, LXDE as the default desktop, a general-purpose SMplayer 0.6.1 based on MPlayer 1.0rc2, GIMP 2.6.1 with a new user interface, Firefox 3.0.3, various light-weight applications (IDE, file manager, editor, disc burner, email client, and P2P clients), Skype 2.0, and Linux kernel 2.6.27. See the release announcement (in Chinese) for more details. Download: hiweed-desktop_2.0beta_i386.iso (400MB, MD5).

Patrick Verner has announced the availability of the first release candidate for Parted Magic 3.1, a minimalist live CD featuring a hard disk partitioning utility and other hard disk management tools: "Parted Magic 3.1 is more of a new feature release than a bug-fix release. We added G4L and a graphical user interface for UDPcast. We switched from the Xfce desktop environment to LXDE and the artwork is also new. Major updates like X.Org 7.4, Linux kernel 2.6.27, Firefox 3.0.3, NTFS-3g 1.2918 and e2fsprogs 1.41.2 have also been added. Many bugs have been fixed and we hope we didn't add any new ones. Please test this release and report any problems in the forum." Visit the project's news page to read the release announcement. Download: pmagic-3.1.iso.zip (47.1MB, MD5).

Ben Zhao has announced the release of CDlinux 0.6.2, a minimalist live CD combining the Xfce desktop with a careful selection of lightweight applications: "We are pleased to announce the release of CDlinux 0.6.2. This release features great enhancements over version 0.6.1: smart handling codepage (FAT/NTFS) of hotplugable media; power management support (ACPI/CPUfreq); auto guessing current time zone; multimedia keyboard support; booting from Linux RAID and ATA RAID; improved support for newer hardware (video, WLAN, Linux UVC), and several new GUI configuration tools (more details in the changelog). This release ships with Linux kernel 2.6.26.6, X.Org 7.3, Xfce 4.4.2, and a bundle of carefully selected popular applications." Visit the project's news page to read the full release announcement. Download: CDlinux-0.6.2.iso (58.9MB, MD5).

Masahiro Takahata has announced the release of Momonga Linux 5, a Japanese community distribution (with support for Japanese and English) loosely modelled on Fedora. Some of the main features and changes compared to the project's previous version include: reduced the size of the installation media to one DVD (additional packages can be installed via yum); Linux kernel 2.6.26 with extended hardware support, virtualisation and support for new file systems (btrfs and nilfs, reiser4fs); X.Org 7.4 and Mesa 7.1 with improved graphics card support and Compiz compatibility; replaced SysVInit with Canonical's Upstart for faster booting; switched to the GCC compiler 4.3 series; replaced Sun Java with OpenJDK 1.6; introduced support for virtualisation with OpenVZ and Xen. Read the release announcement and release notes (both links in Japanese) for a detailed introduction to the Momonga project's latest release. Download: Momonga-5-i686-DVD.iso (3,743MB, SHA1), Momonga-5-x86_64-DVD.iso (3,810MB, SHA1).

Guardian Digital has announced the release of EnGarde Secure Linux 3.0.21, a server distribution featuring a web-based system administration tool: "Guardian Digital is happy to announce the release of EnGarde Secure Community 3.0.21. This release includes many updated packages and bug fixes and some feature enhancements to Guardian Digital WebTool and the SELinux policy. New features include: a totally redesigned Health Center backend which should yield much more reliable and accurate results, you can help us improve this new backend by following the instructions below, immediately following this section; a new package, perl-Convert-ASN1 (0.22); the latest stable versions of MySQL (5.0.67), Asterisk (1.4.21.2), Dovecot (1.1.3), Linux kernel (2.6.26.5), OpenLDAP (2.4.11), OpenSSH (5.1p1), PostgreSQL (8.2.10), Samba (3.2.4)...." Read the rest of the release notes for more details. Download (MD5): engarde-community-3.0.21.i686.iso (630MB, torrent), engarde-community-3.0.21.x86_64.iso (639MB, torrent).

Alexey Rusakov has announced the release of ALT Linux 4.1 "Desktop" edition, a general-purpose GNU/Linux distribution intended for use on desktops, laptops and netbooks: "We're happy to announce our new release, ALT Linux 4.1 'Desktop'. Changes since version 4.0: based on the new stable 4.1 repository branch; 2.6.25 kernel with better hardware support; KDE 3.5.10 (GNOME 2.22 and Xfce 4.4.2 can be installed from DVD); Firefox 3; NetworkManager allows managing any network interface without root privileges; a new look of the system management center; updated bootloader and display management modules; Kaffeine as the default player of audio and video files; updated and revised menu; new applications - QtEmu (QEMU with a GUI), VirtualBox." See the detailed release notes for further information. Download (MD5, torrents) either the installation DVD or the live CD: altlinux-4.1.0-desktop-i586-install-dvd5.iso (4,363MB), altlinux-4.1.0-desktop-x86_64-install-dvd5.iso (4,213MB), altlinux-4.1.0-desktop-i586-live-cd.iso (692MB), altlinux-4.1.0-desktop-x86_64-live-cd.iso (707MB).

Attila Crăciun has announced the release of Bluewhite64 Linux 12.1R1 "LiveDVD", a Slackware-based live DVD for 64-bit processors: "New revised version of Bluewhite64 Linux 12.1R1 'KDE3 LiveDVD' is available. Also, we are introducing a Bluewhite64 Linux 12.1R1 'KDE4 LiveDVD'. The 'KDE3 LiveDVD' has received important security and stability updates. These updates include new versions of the KDE, X.Org, Pidgin, ALICE, OpenSSH and OpenSSL, Mozilla Firefox, Thunderbird and SeaMonkey, BIND, Amarok and many more. New feature, BW64installer, which is a GUI installation program for installing Bluewhite64 Linux Live to a hard drive, has been added. Bluewhite64 Linux 12.1R1 'KDE4 LiveDVD' contains KDE 4.1.2 with dependencies and some extra KDE 4 packages created by the Bluewhite64 community." Here is the full release announcement. Download: Bluewhite64-12.1-KDE3-LiveDVD-R1.iso (1,872MB, MD5, torrent), Bluewhite64-12.1-KDE4-LiveDVD-R1.iso (1,911MB, MD5, torrent).

VectorLinux 5.9 "Live" has been released: "The VectorLinux Live team is proud to announce the release of VectorLinux 5.9 Standard Live CD (and the first 5.9 Light beta live CD). This is the final release for 5.9 Standard Live. We like to keep our live CDs as close to the installed versions as possible, except for the addition of GParted for easy GUI partitioning. The 5.9 Standard Live CD has been updated with all the latest packages from the 5.9 repository. Also installed in these live editions are vmklive, a live remastering tool that makes live CD remastering easy for everyone. These live CDs include browser plugins, SeaMonkey, Firefox and Opera, the newest Xfce desktop, The Gimp, AbiWord and Gnumeric, vasm and vl-hot, wireless drivers and configuration tools, support for read and write to NTFS, and lots of fun and games." Here is the full release announcement. Download: VL5.9-STD-LIVE-Final.iso (611MB, MD5).

Christoph Thiel has announced the second beta release of openSUSE 11.1: "The first beta release for 11.1 was so popular, we have decided to do it again! The openSUSE project is happy to announce the release of openSUSE 11.1 beta 2, available for immediate download and testing. Major changes in this release include: live CDs for GNOME and KDE, VirtualBox 2.0.2, OpenOffice.org 3.0RC2, GNOME 2.24.0, KDE 4.1.2, Mono 2.0RC3, Compiz 0.7.8. This release is ready for widespread testing and we're encouraging everyone to download and test it." The release announcement also includes a note on the current status of the troublesome e1000e network module, warning for users of OpenOffice.org, and a list of other known issues. Currently only the installation DVD images are available for download (BitTorrent only): openSUSE-11.1-Beta2-DVD-i386.iso (3,711MB), openSUSE-11.1-Beta2-DVD-x86_64.iso (3,960MB).

Masahiro Takahata has announced the availability of the release candidate for Momonga Linux 5, a Japanese community distribution loosely modelled on Fedora. Some of the main features and changes compared to the project's earlier release include: reduced the size of the installation media to one DVD (additional packages are available on download servers); Linux kernel 2.6.26 with expanded hardware support, virtualisation and support for new file systems (btrfs and nilfs, reiser4fs); X.Org 7.4 and Mesa 7.1 with improved graphics card support and Compiz compatibility; replaced SysVInit with Canonical's Upstart for faster booting; switched to the GCC compiler 4.3 series; replaced Sun Java with OpenJDK 1.6; introduced support for virtualisation with OpenVZ and Xen. For more information please see the release announcement and release notes (both links in Japanese). Download: Momonga-5-RC-i686-DVD.iso (3,743MB, SHA1), Momonga-5-RC-x86_64-DVD.iso (3,810MB, SHA1).

A new stable version of GParted LiveCD, a specialist, Debian-based live medium featuring a popular hard disk partitioning tool, has been released. From the release notes: "Comes with GParted 0.3.9; based on Debian 'Lenny' as of 2008-10-01; Linux kernel 2.6.26; package hfsprogs was added; three boot parameters were added: gl_lang, gl_kbd, and gl_batch (example: 'gl_lang=en_US gl_kbd=NONE gl_batch' will use en_US.UTF-8 locale, will do nothing about keyboard mapping change and will not wait for entering key before starting X); VGA 1024x768 is used for framebuffer when booting; the icon of USB on desktop was removed since it does not fit the way USB Flash drive was made; updated with newer live-initramfs 1.139.1." Download from here: gparted-live-0.3.9-4.iso (93.8MB, MD5).

Iuri Stanchev has announced the release of NetSecL 2.3, a Slackware-based distribution with advanced security features: "As the NetSecL project developer, I am proud to announce the release of NetSecL 2.3. The main highlights: improved full setup using rsync - we were able to get a full install in 5 minutes, this is the fastest result for now; smaller size of the ISO image file - another 100 MB got melted; a source-based portage system CruxPorts4Slack - mainly suitable for upgrade of command-line utilities from source; a conversion system adding PT_PAX_FLAGS to ELF binaries; a more advanced kernel configuration and additional modules (NDISwrapper and Dazuko - fixed); X.Org update thanks to the excellent packages from Zenwalk, additionally, with small modifications to the X.Org ATI driver, we added support for the latest ATI 4850/4870 video cards." Read the complete release announcement for more details. Download: netsecl-2.3-install.iso (602MB, MD5).

The fourth beta release of FreeNAS 0.69, a FreeBSD-based operating system providing free Network-Attached Storage (NAS) services, is ready for testing. From the release notes: "Upgrade to FreeBSD 6.4; upgrade to rsync 3.0.4, PHPMailer 2.2.1, Transmission 1.34; add new attribute 'Temporary directory' to UPnP WebGUI to define a directory used to store temporary transcoded files; modify /etc/rc.d/samba script; add 'Who' combobox to rsync client/local jobs to select user which is used to execute this job; add 'Enable' checkbox to rsync client/local jobs to enable or disable them; fix bug in zoneinfo port. Please note that due to adding many new features which have blown up the image size of FreeNAS, it is not possible to upgrade to the latest 0.69b4 from previous installations if you have chosen the embedded OS/DATA installation mode." Download (MD5): FreeNAS-i386-LiveCD-0.69b4.iso (59.3MB), FreeNAS-amd64-LiveCD-0.69b4.iso (64.7MB).

Jesse Keating has announced the availability of the beta release of Fedora 10: "Fedora 10 Beta: Cambridge's foundations are laid. Just on the heels of the Fedora project's fifth anniversary, the beta of Fedora Linux version 10 (code-named Cambridge) is now available. Among the new, fun, and interesting features: new NetworkManager with connection sharing; improved printer handling; Sectool, an auditing and security testing framework; RPM 4.6, the first big RPM change in several years; new version of PackageKit for managing software, with more fixes and enhancements; new version of PulseAudio; kernel 2.6.27, including better support for WiFi; new icon theme 'Echo', to be completed with the theme graphic 'Solar' in the Fedora 10 release; GNOME 2.24; KDE 4.1; automatic installation of multimedia codecs...." Read the rest of the release announcement for further details. Quick links to download the installable live CDs: F10-Beta-i686-Live.iso (697MB, SHA1, torrent), F10-Beta-x86_64-Live.iso (670MB, SHA1, torrent).

Martin Ultima has announced the release of Ultima Linux 8.4, a Slackware-compatible desktop and server distribution built around the KDE desktop: "The Ultima Linux project is pleased to announce the immediate availability of Ultima Linux 8.4. This release includes over 850 packages, including the Linux kernel 2.6.24.7, X.Org 7.3 with ATI and NVIDIA proprietary drivers, KDE 3.5.10, OpenOffice.org 2.4.1. Highlights: all-new code base based on the ultima-scripts package and live CD build system; more optimized base system, including i686-optimized kernel and glibc on x86, and greater use of native code on AMD64; improved hardware support for wireless, ATI and NVIDIA drivers, and some 'netbooks' such as the ASUS Eee PC; cleaner, more refined desktop with numerous Ultima tweaks and enhancements...." Read the full release announcement for further information. Download: ultimalinux-8.4_Complete-LiveDVD.iso (2,807MB, MD5), ultimalinux-8.4_Desktop-x86-LiveCD.iso (670MB, MD5), ultimalinux-8.4_Desktop-AMD64-LiveCD.iso (703MB, MD5).

Warren Woodford has announced the availability of the second beta release of SimplyMEPIS 8.0: "Warren has uploaded a second 8.0 beta, SimplyMEPIS 7.9.80-beta. SimplyMEPIS 8.0 offers up-to-date user applications delivered on top of a Debian 'Lenny' core. Important package changes in this beta include Linux kernel 2.6.26.5, OpenOffice.org 3.0rc2 and OpenJDK 6. The new kernel supports VirtualBox 2.0.2, which is available for installation from the SimplyMEPIS 8.0 pool. Pluggable NTFS devices are once again handled automatically with NTFS-3G. At this time, permanent NTFS devices must be mounted manually with NTFS-3G. An automatic solution is being investigated. This release introduces a striking new desktop theme developed by MEPIS community members." Here is the full release announcement. Download: SimplyMEPIS-CD_7.9.80-beta_32.iso (662MB, MD5), SimplyMEPIS-CD_7.9.80-beta_64.iso (682MB, MD5).

Marcus Moeller has announced the release of easys GNU/Linux 4.2, a Slackware-based desktop distribution with graphical system configuration and package management tools: "We are pleased to announce the release of easys GNU/Linux 4.2 which ships the latest KDE desktop (version 4.1.1) and makes use of Qt 4.x. Qt 3 and KDE 3 applications can still be launched with a compatibility library. The previous office suite, SoftMaker Office, has been replaced by KOffice which offers enhancements and new functionality like a presentation program. The current version (3.0.1) of the Firefox web browser is included. In addition, we have updated other applications, like the ALICE system management framework to 0.9.17 and the installation environment YaLI. easys GNU/Linux is fully compatible with Slackware 12.1 and can be extended using the graphical 'pkgmanager' or the well-known 'pkgtools'." Visit the distribution's news page to read the release announcement. Download: easys-4.2.iso (664MB, MD5).

The linuX-gamers.net project has announced the release of linuX-gamers live DVD 0.9.4, an Arch Linux-based distribution with a collection of popular 3D games, including BzFLag, Enemy Territory, Glest, Nexuiz, Sauerbraten, Torcs, Tremulous, True Combat: Elite, Warsow and World of Padman: "The linuX-gamers.net live DVD 0.9.4 released. Recently the linuX-gamers.net live DVD staff released an new compilation of the boot-and-play distribution live.linuX-gamers.net. This version was used on the Uninacht Event in Basel. Changes 0.9.4 (uninacht-basel-2008): kernel and driver updates; basic hard disk installation support added; rudimentary install script added; minor bug fixes." Read the release announcement and visit the project's home page for more details. The linuX-gamers 0.9.4 live DVD image is available for download via BitTorrent: lg-live-0.9.4.iso (3,118MB, MD5).

Karl Schock has announced the release of elpicx 2.0, a dual-boot live DVD (offering a choice between Ubuntu 8.04 and Fedora 9 KDE) with a collection of test emulators, reference cards, study notes and exercises for the LPI (Linux Professional Institute) certification exam: "I am proud to present elpicx version 2.0. The elpicx DVD is a dual-boot Linux live DVD to prepare students for the exams of the LPI certification, including documentation and exam simulators. Based on Fedora 9 KDE and Ubuntu 8.04 LTS. Ubuntu documentation and LPIC documentation were added together with software to prepare for the LPI exams. Changelog: added Ubuntu Desktop Course; updated the link list; exercises by Karl Schock are missing (at the moment)." Visit the project's home page and read the changelog for more information. Download the English or German DVD image from here: elpicx_20_20080925_EN.iso (1,483MB, MD5), elpicx_20_20080925_DE.iso (1,587MB, MD5).

Damien Lallement has announced the availability of the second and final release candidate for Mandriva Linux 2009: "Mandriva Linux 2009 RC 2 should be available on public mirrors now. Main features of RC2 (compared to RC1): improved boot speed; support for encrypted partitions in installer and DiskDrake using LUKS; improved support for netbooks; support for Intel G41 graphics chipset; GNOME 2.24; KDE4 theme complete (still some small issues to fix); kernel 2.6.27-rc7; installer new design is finalized. Warning: we had a last minute notice that there might be EEPROM corruption on PXE part of e100 network cards, similar to the EEPROM corruption seen on e1000e cards (e1000e support is disabled in 2009.0 RC2 to prevent any damage). We advise people with such cards to not test Mandriva 2009.0 RC2 or to backup their network card." See the release announcement and release notes for additional information. Download the installation DVDs or live CDs from here: mandriva-2009-dvd-i586.iso (4,010MB, MD5), mandriva-2009-dvd-x86_64.iso (4,027MB, MD5), mandriva-one-2009-rc2-KDE4-int-cdrom-i586.iso (694MB, MD5), mandriva-one-2009-rc2-GNOME-int-cdrom-i586.iso (592MB, MD5).

Paul Sherman has announced the release of Absolute Linux 12.1.07, a light-weight modification of Slackware Linux with IceWM: "I am happy to announce the release of Absolute Linux 12.1.07. It is package-compatible with Slackware-current (NOT Slackware 12.1). A large number of changes include new kernel 2.6.24.7, GCC 4.2.4, XULRunner 1.9.0.1, Firefox 3.0.1 built on XULRunner, both more highly optimized over previous releases and some Firefox settings have been tweaked - on a test system it uses about 20% less memory. Please note two things: base-supported CPU is now a Pentium II and the kernel source package is now on the second CD." Read the release announcement and changelog for further details. Download (MD5): absolute-12.1.07.iso (670MB).

David Liu has announced the release of gOS 3.0 "Gadgets" edition, an Ubuntu-based distribution featuring a large number of pre-installed Google desktop gadgets: "Introducing gOS 3 'Gadgets'. gOS 3 'Gadgets' instantly launches Google Gadgets for Linux on start-up, introducing over 100,000 possible iGoogle and Google Gadgets to the desktop. Google Documents, Calendar, and Mail launch in Mozilla Prism windows to closer resemble desktop applications. The newest release of Wine 1.0 is included to now support thousands of Windows software for our advanced users. gOS 3 Gadgets is based on the solid Linux distribution base of Ubuntu 8.04.1." Visit the project's home page to read the release announcement and see the product's features page to learn more about the distribution's capabilities. Download the live CD image from here: gos-3.0-gadgets-20080925.iso (687MB).
Also available from OSDisc.

Robert Lange has announced the release of VectorLinux 5.9.1 "SOHO" edition, now also available as a free download: "The 5.9.1 release is a maintenance and bug-fix release for the previous SOHO 5.9 and includes 52 updates to the core system. You will also find Firefox 3.0.1, Opera 9.52, Pidgin 2.5.1, SANE 1.0.19 and a host of others. The kernel has been upgraded to 2.6.25.7 for better driver support in both sound and WiFi. After long consideration we determined that this was just too darned good and we wanted everyone to see just how good this is. We are confident that after trying the free edition you will want to come back and purchase the DELUXE edition. The default desktop is KDE 3.5.9. More than just amazing eye candy, KDE's extensive collection of graphical tools makes it easy to use for non-technical users." Read the release notes and visit the DELUXE product page for further details. Download: VL5.9.1-SOHO.iso (643MB, MD5).

Stefan Lippers-Hollmann has announced the release of sidux 2008-03, a desktop distribution based on Debian's unstable branch: "Later than planned (due to a hard-to-find bug in VirtualBox), we now have the pleasure to announce the immediate availability of the sidux 2008-03 'Ourea' release. It concentrates on integrating the changes caused by kernel 2.6.26, and on the post-install experience - by propagating the default user profile to new users as well. As a welcome side effect, hardware for common netbooks and newer chipsets is now supported. Furthermore, a large number of individual functionality enhancements and bug fixes have been applied to the full package line. A new feature in 'Ourea' is the ability to select languages other than German or US English from the GRUB menu." Read the detailed release notes for more information. Download (MD5): sidux-2008-03-kde-i386-amd64.iso (1,949MB, MD5), sidux-2008-03-xfce-i386.iso (391MB, MD5), sidux-2008-03-xfce-amd64.iso (396MB, MD5).

Drew Fahey has announced the release of Helix 2008R1, an Ubuntu-based live CD with a collection of incident response and forensic analysis software: "Helix 2008R1 (2.0) has officially been released and is available for download. This is a major update to the bootable side of Helix, as it is based on Ubuntu rather than KNOPPIX. There are a number of other changes: Guidance Software Linen v6.11.2.2; AFFLIB 3.3.3 - open and extensible file format designed to store disk images and associated metadata; aimage 3.1.0 - advanced disk imaging tool; Autopsy 2.08 - GUI front-end to Sleuth Kit tools; Sleuth Kit 2.52 - open source digital investigation forensic tools; chkrootkit v0.47 - determine whether system is infected with a rootkit; chntpw 0.99.3 - utility to overwrite Windows SAM passwords...." Read the release announcement and changelog for more details. Download (MD5): Helix2008R1.iso (702MB).

Testing of the next major version of Elive continues with the newly released build 1.9.02: "The Elive team is proud to announce the release of the development version 1.9.02. The improvement of Elive for the next stable release is proceeding smoothly, also profiting from the upcoming release of Debian. All that is needed now is to finish implementing a few more things, do the needed stability tests, and add more applications to the new translation system. This version includes: terminal - fixed a bug which made the terminal unreadable; special support for Happy Hacking Keyboards (pro2); Thunar now shows thumbnails of RAW images with a newly added special feature that works regardless of format and model of the camera used; installer - upgrade mode, migration mode...." Read the complete release announcement for further details. Download: elive_1.9.02_unstable.iso (681MB, MD5).

The first release candidate for Guadalinex 5.0, a Spanish Ubuntu-based distribution developed by the regional government of AndalucÃ­a, is ready for testing. Released to commemorate today's worldwide Software Freedom Day, this is the project's first version that comes on two CDs - an installable live CD with essential applications and an optional CD with extra software packages. Some of the other changes from earlier betas: support for installing the system directly from the GRUB boot menu without having to boot into the live CD first; an option to create a bootable USB device from the live CD; new selection of applications, easier and more powerful; 3D desktop effects (where supported by the graphics card). Please read the full release announcement (in Spanish) for further information. Download (MD5) the installation/live CD from here: guadalinex-v5-rc1.iso (700MB).

A new alpha build of Mythbuntu 8.10, an Ubuntu-based distribution featuring MythTV and designed for home theatre PCs, has been released: "Without further ado, allow me to introduce Mythbuntu 8.10 alpha 6. It is very important to note that this release is not compatible with Mythbuntu 7.10 or any other MythTV 0.20.2-based distribution. Changes from alpha 4: lots of bug fixes across the board in Ubiquity and Mythbuntu control centre; bug fixes for MythTV; general bug fixes. We are introducing a testing Personal Package Archive (PPA). This PPA will contain software that is either not in the repositories, or is a more current version than what is in the repositories. This PPA will not contain updated MythTV packages, but instead will contain new and updated packages for programs such as MythExport, MythNetTv, and MythVideo-Bulk-Updater." Here is the full release announcement. Download (MD5): mythbuntu-8.10-alpha6-desktop-i386.iso (597MB), mythbuntu-8.10-alpha6-desktop-amd64.iso (644MB).

Christoph Thiel has announced the first beta release of openSUSE 11.1: "The openSUSE Project is happy to announce the first beta release of openSUSE 11.1. It includes quite a few improvements and new features over the 11.0 release, including new versions of KDE, GNOME, the Linux kernel, improved YaST modules, and much more! What's new? GNOME 2.24 - PulseAudio improvements, Ekiga 3.0, Empathy instant messenger based on Telepathy framework; KDE 4.1.x - KWin has compositing enabled by default, Amarok 2.0 beta 1, auto-hiding panels, KWin cube effect; basic SELinux enablement; YaST Modules - rewritten YaST printer, partitioner and security modules; cluster stack features significant usability changes; support for Amazon's Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2); new BlueTooth features with BlueZ 4.6." There is much more so check out the full release announcement for more details. Currently only installation DVDs are available for download via BitTorrent: openSUSE-11.1-Beta1-DVD-i386.iso (3,628MB), openSUSE-11.1-Beta1-DVD-x86_64.iso (3,771MB).

PLD Live is a live CD edition of PLD Linux, an independent distribution aimed at more advanced users and system administrators. Version 2008.09, announced yesterday, boots into a GNOME 2.22 desktop environment and provides a graphical system installer: "PLD Live is a live CD project to let you test PLD Linux without installing it to a hard drive. It is also useful for rescuing damaged systems. Features: based on Th (3.0) release; powered by GNOME 2.22; automatic handling of both wired and wireless networks; graphical installation wizard to put PLD on a hard disk (experimental); fast boot time; enabled for updates. The most important software: kernel: 2.6.25.16, GNOME: 2.22.3, NetworkManager: 0.7svn." Visit the sub-project's home page to release announcement. Download: pld-live_th.2008.09.i686.iso (426MB, MD5).

Steve Langasek has announced the availability of the sixth and final alpha release of Ubuntu 8.10, code name "Intrepid Ibex": "Welcome to Intrepid Ibex Alpha 6, which will in time become Ubuntu 8.10. New features: the newest GNOME 2.23.91 desktop environment with tons of bug-fixes and new features; X.Org 7.4 with much better support for hot-pluggable input devices such as tablets, keyboards, and mice; Linux kernel 2.6.27 with better hardware support and numerous bug-fixes; encrypted private directory; guest session; Network Manager 0.7; DKMS, allowing kernel drivers to be automatically rebuilt when new kernels are released; Samba 3.2 with clustered file server support, encrypted network transport, IPv6 support; PAM authentication framework." Find more details in the release announcement and release notes. Download (MD5): intrepid-desktop-i386.iso (696MB, torrent), intrepid-desktop-amd64.iso (698MB, torrent). Also available are alpha 6 CD images for Kubuntu8.10, Xubuntu8.10 and Ubuntu Studio8.10.

Ken VanDine has announced the release of Foresight Linux 1.0 "Kid's" edition: "Foresight Kid's edition is now available for your kid's enjoyment. The Kid's edition features a number of education and entertainment applications, a customized GNOME desktop environment, and an innovative set of excellent, up-to-date software applications. The Foresight Kid's edition features the following applications: Tux Paint, an award-winning drawing program for children ages 3 - 12; Tux Typing, and educational typing tutor for children; GCompris, an educational software suite that includes many different activities for children ages 2 - 10; Tux, of Math Command, an education arcade game starring Tux based on the class game 'Missile Command'; games - SuperTux, SuperTuxKart, FooBilliard, GNU Chess, Secret Maryo Chronicles...." Read the release announcement and release notes for further information. Download (SHA1): foresight-1.0-x86-dvd1.iso (1,437MB, torrent).

K Dulcimer has announced the first alpha release of TinyMe 2008.1, a minimalist Linux distribution based on PCLinuxOS: "I am proud to announce the release of the first alpha for TinyMe 2008.1. TinyMe 2008.1 will be an effort to try to get TinyMe down to a bare-bones 150 MB ISO image. What will it have? Well, you'll be able to: boot up the live CD, log in to a graphical desktop environment, configure your system with the PCLinuxOS control center, install TinyMe to the hard drive, and install programs with Synaptic. From there it's left up to your imagination. Add your own applications and configure as you please. What's different in this test release? New 2.6.24.4 kernel; full update to PCLinuxOS testing repositories; stripped out a lot of programs." Read the rest of the release announcement for further details. Download: TinyMe-2008.1.alpha1.KD.i586.iso (169MB, MD5).

Kris Moore has announced the release of PC-BSD 7.0, a user-friendly, desktop operating system based on FreeBSD: "The PC-BSD team is pleased to announce PC-BSD version 7.0 'Fibonacci'. This release marks a milestone for PC-BSD, by moving to the latest FreeBSD 7-STABLE and also incorporating the KDE 4.1.1 desktop. Users will immediately notice the improved visual interface that KDE 4.1.1 offers, as well as a large improvement in hardware support and speed from the update to FreeBSD 7-STABLE. PC-BSD 7.0 also offers a large and growing library of self-contained PBI files available for installation, and improvements for other locales on our PBI Directory web site. This release also offers new methods of installation, including a DVD, USB and Internet / network install." See the release announcement, release notes and changelog for further information. Download (MD5): PCBSD7-x86-DVD.iso (2,038MB).

Ekin Meroğlu has announced the release of Pardus Linux 2008.1: "We're happy to announce Pardus Linux 2008.1 'Hyaena Hyaena', the first update release in Pardus 2008 series. It contains all the bug fixes, enhancements and new feature additions since the release of Pardus Linux 2008. Features: new and improved Network Manager with Ad-Hoc and 802.1x wireless support; two live CD variants with KDE 3 and KDE 4; support for Swedish; international installation CD with support for 11 languages; updated applications - KDE 3.5.10, Linux kernel 2.6.25.16 with improved hardware support, Mozilla Firefox 3.0.1, OpenOffice.org 2.4.1, KDE 4.1.1; hundreds of free software applications with fewer bugs and updated to the most recent versions...." Read the release announcement and release notes for more details. Download the English/Turkish installation CD or one of the "Calisan" live CDs: Pardus_2008.1.iso (696MB, MD5), Pardus_Calisan_2008.1-KDE3.iso (695MB, MD5), Pardus_Calisan_2008.1-KDE4.iso (687MB, MD5).

The first preview release of sidux 2008-03, a distribution and live CD based on Debian's unstable branch, is available for testing: "Later than planned (due to a hard-to-find bug in VirtualBox), sidux 2008-03 'Ourea' is now ready to enter the preview season for amd64 and i686 systems. As usual, the previews are shipping only as a small, but fully functional, 'KDE-lite' flavours, accompanied by a combined 'Xfce-lite' flavour for amd64 + i386. 'Ourea' concentrates on integrating the changes caused by kernel 2.6.26 and on post-install experiences - by propagating the default user profile to new users as well. As a welcome side effect, hardware for common netbooks and newer chipsets is now supported by sidux. Furthermore, a large number of individual functionality enhancements and bug fixes have been applied to the full package line-up." Read the detailed release notes for further information. Download: sidux-2008-03-pre1-kde-i386.iso (454MB, MD5), sidux-2008-03-pre1-kde-amd64.iso (460MB, MD5), sidux-2008-03-pre1-xfce-i386-amd64.iso (696MB, MD5).

Stano Hoferek has announced the release of Greenie Linux 3.1H, an Ubuntu-based distribution optimised for Slovak and Czech users, but also supporting English and Esperanto. The new version comes with a greatly modified list of Bash aliases, a Greenport service (online script gallery), a special menu with graphic effects and a new root menu. Greenie combines the standard system and applications from the Ubuntu repository (Linux kernel 2.6.24, GNOME 2.22.3, Firefox 3.0.1, OpenOffice.org 2.4.1) with some up-to-date GetDeb.net packages (Pidgin 2.5.1, Wine 1.1.4, Phun 4 beta). Also included is support for modems that are in common use in Slovakia and the Czech Republic. A custom Greenie Toolbar for Firefox with some interesting enhancements and links compliments the distribution. Further information on the new release is available from the project's home page and developer's blog (both links in Slovak). Download: greenie-3.1h.iso (699MB, MD5).

Paul Cutler has announced the release of Foresight Linux 1.0 "Mobile" edition, a distribution specifically designed for netbooks. It has been tested on ASUS Eee PC and Intel Classmate devices and it features rolling release schedules with continuous software updates. From the announcement: "The Foresight Linux Project is pleased to announce the first release of the Foresight Mobile edition. The Foresight Mobile edition is the first release of Foresight Linux for netbooks and ultra mobile PCs, such as the ASUS Eee PC, Intel Classmate and Dell E netbook, and features a customized GNOME desktop optimized for smaller screens. The default desktop features quick and easy links to applications, documents and other GNOME software (see screenshot). It includes the following applications: F-Spot photo manager, Firefox web browser, Pidgin instant messenger, Banshee media player, GNOME movie player." Read the release announcement and release notes for additional information. Download: foresight-1.0-x86-disc1.iso (530MB, SHA1), foresight-mobile-1.0-x86.img.bz2 (591MB, SHA1).

Volker Theile has announced the third beta release of FreeNAS 0.69, a minimalist, FreeBSD-based operating system providing easy-to-setup Network-Attached Storage (NAS) services: "Today a new beta version of FreeNAS 0.69 has been released. As soon as FreeBSD 6.4 is released, expect the next and hopefully stable FreeNAS version. Major changes: add nullfs.ko and unionfs.ko kernel modules; display warning message when user is going to delete software RAID or encrypted volume; add 'Recursive', 'Times', 'Compress' and 'Archive' checkboxes to RSYNC client in local WebGUI; add 'Delete algorithm' option in RSYNC client in local WebGUI; add 'Execute now' button in RSYNC client in local WebGUI; add NVIDIA nForce MCP on-board Ethernet support; add audio and video transcoding support to fuppes; increase mfs_root size to 74MB (32-bit) and 80MB (64-bit); CTorrent BitTorrent client has been replaced by Transmission which includes a WebGUI...." More details in the release announcement. Download (MD5): FreeNAS-i386-LiveCD-0.69b3.3821.iso (59.4MB), FreeNAS-amd64-LiveCD-0.69b3.3821.iso (64.5MB).

Ken Smith has announced the release of FreeBSD 7.1-BETA (production branch) and 6.4-BETA (production legacy branch): "The FreeBSD 7.1-BETA and 6.4-BETA builds are now available on the FreeBSD FTP mirror sites. This is the first step in the release process for FreeBSD-7.1 and FreeBSD-6.4. These sets of builds do not include pre-built packages. We encourage people to help out with the testing. Problems can be reported through Gnats or on the freebsd-stable at freebsd.org mailing lists. At this point we expect the 6.4-RC1 builds to start in about two weeks, and the 7.1-RC1 builds a week after that." Here is the complete release announcement. Download: 7.1-BETA-i386-disc1.iso (426MB, MD5), 7.1-BETA-amd64-disc1.iso (451MB, MD5), 6.4-BETA-i386-disc1.iso (536MB, MD5), 6.4-BETA-amd64-disc1.iso (617MB, MD5).

Johnny Hughes has announced the release of the CentOS 4.7, a distribution created by recompiling the source code for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.7: "The CentOS development team is pleased to announce the release of CentOS 4.7 for i386 and x86_64. This release corresponds to the upstream vendor 4.7 release. Also released in the updates repository for CentOS 4.7 are all updates through September 12th, 2008. Major changes for this version are: password hashing using the SHA-256 and SHA-512 hash functions is now supported; this update implements the use of paravirtualized block device and network drivers, which improve the performance of fully-virtualized guests; there is a technology preview of OpenOffice.org 2.0 included in the updates directory; Firefox is now rebased to version 3.0.x." Read the complete release announcement for further details. Download: CentOS-4.7-i386-binDVD.iso (2,324MB, MD5, torrent), CentOS-4.7-x86_64-binDVD.iso (2,574MB, MD5, torrent).

Elive, another distribution catering to users who prefer the Enlightenment window manager, has reached development version 1.8.8: "The Elive team is proud to announce the release of development version 1.8.8. This version solves two important problems found in the previous version: an annoying mouse bug and a network configuration bug. Changes: 'changedevice' boot option allows changing device during the boot process; hotkeys - the mute key now works; E17 updated to the last version from Subversion, now some modules like battery, temperature and CPU frequency are enabled only if hardware supports it; Thunar can now preview XCF (GIMP native format) images and Nintendo DS ROMs; auto-mounters - mount and umount devices from Thunar; kernel updated to version 2.6.25.16...." More details in the release announcement. Download: elive_1.8.8_unstable.iso (681MB, MD5).

Luca De Marini has announced the release of OpenGEU 8.04.1, an Ubuntu-based distribution featuring a highly customised Enlightenment desktop: "Finally OpenGEU 8.04.1 'Luna Crescente' has been released. This is a very important day for our team and project, this release is a milestone. Compared to the old OpenGEU 'Luna Nuova', we have a lot of new enhancements for you to enjoy: the new OpenGEU themes manager (geutheme), an incredible tool able to change every part of the desktop with a mouse click; two full-featured and completely new OpenGEU themes, using the Murrine GTK engine; eTrayer, a new system tray developed by our team; many new modules, like Extramenu, Trash bin and more; the latest E17 desktop shell available...." Read the rest of the release announcement for more details. Download: opengeu-8.04.1-desktop-i386.iso (693MB, MD5, torrent).

Alexander Eremin has announced the release of MilaX 0.3.2, a minimalist, OpenSolaris-based desktop live CD/USB system, with JWM as its window manager and a handful of light-weight applications for everyday tasks and system administration: From the changelog: "Small desktop 32-bit edition, based on OpenSolaris Nevada 95; network modules moved to the /usr/kernel/drv that has reduced the miniroot size; ZFSinstall script requires less memory to work; updated Beaver, Netsurf; restored JWM with dark (default) and light themes; added BitTorrent client Transmission, Xpdf replaced with Epdfview; additional software can be installed with pkgadd, pkg-get and IPS pkg." Download (MD5) the live CD or live USB image from here: milax032.iso (126MB), milax032.usb (149MB).

Miklós Vajna has announced the release of Frugalware Linux 0.9, code name "Solaria": "The Frugalware developer team is pleased to announce the immediate availability of Frugalware 0.9, our ninth stable release. No new features have been added since 0.9rc2, but about 40 changes have been made to fix minor bugs. If you didn't follow the changes during the pre-releases, here are the most important changes since 0.8: up to date base system - Linux kernel 2.6.26, glibc 2.8 and GCC 4.3.1; updated desktop packages - GNOME 2.22, OpenOffice.org 2.4.1 and Firefox 3.0.1; setup - improved support for machines with multiple network cards, the USB installer is now easier to start, fixed/documented installation in VirtualBox and VMware; improved graphical tools - FUN (update notifier) now supports news notifications." Here is the complete release announcement. Download (SHA1): frugalware-0.9-i686-dvd1.iso (4,254MB, torrent), frugalware-0.9-x86_64-dvd1.iso (4,120MB, torrent).

Ekin Meroğlu has announced the availability of a release candidate for Pardus Linux 2008.1: "We're happy to announce Pardus 2008.1 RC, the last test release for the upcoming Pardus 2008.1. This release candidate includes a major difference form earlier versions of Pardus Linux - from now on, it will be released as two flavours of live and install CDs: one install CD in English and Turkish and one in all supported languages, one live CD with KDE 3, and finally one live CD with KDE 4." Read the full release announcement for a detailed description of all the different Pardus flavours. Quick download links to the English/Turkish installation CD and the two live CDs (Pardus "Calisan"): Pardus_2008.1-tr_RC.iso (697MB, MD5), Pardus_Calisan_2008.1-KDE3_RC.iso (697MB, MD5), Pardus_Calisan_2008.1-KDE4_RC.iso (695MB, MD5).

Clement Lefebvre has announced the release of Linux Mint 5 "Xfce" edition: "We are proud to announce the release of Linux Mint 5 Xfce Community edition." Some of the new features found in this release include: miscellaneous improvements to Mint tools, such as a new layout and more options to customise desktop in mintDesktop; desktop improvements that allow checking the MD5 checksum of an ISO image or install TrueType fonts with a right click; performance improvements that have drastically reduced memory usage; upstream improvements from Ubuntu, including the new ufw firewall and better printing; better look and feel through subtle refinements of the existing GTK+ widgets and a variety of new themes; better localization thanks to ongoing translation effort by the Linux Mint community; more available software via CNR.com." There is a lot more so read the comprehensive release notes for details. Download: LinuxMint-5-XFCE.iso (681MB, MD5).

SystemRescueCd 1.1.0, a major new version of the popular hard disk partitioning and data rescue live CD, has been released. What's new? "New features introduced in SystemRescueCd-1.1.0: advanced customization - you can now install new packages to SystemRescueCd by doing an advanced customization; kernel recompilation - there is new documentation about building a customized SystemRescueCd with your own kernel; backstore - this tool allows you to keep your changes when you reboot SystemRescueCd; nameif - this tool allows you to specify the name of each Ethernet interface using the Mac address; rsync tutorial - new documentation about how to use rsync; added development tools (GCC, make) and Gentoo tools (emerge, equery); ability to install your own packages using the Gentoo commands (emerge)...." These are just some of the most interesting changes, but there are many more, please read the full changelog for additional details. Download: systemrescuecd-x86-1.1.0.iso (233MB, MD5).

The second release candidate for Magic Linux 2.1, a Chinese community distribution which uses the RPM package management system and which is optimised for the i686 processor architecture, is out. Some of the changes since RC1 include: various improvements and bug fixes applied to the system installer; upgrade to Linux kernel 2.6.25.16; upgrade to KDE 3.5.10, miscellaneous bug fixes to module-init-tools and wireless-tools; upgraded FreeType to version 2.3.7, Fontconfig to 2.6.0; various other upgrades, including version upgrade to xine, GPhoto, SQLite, Poppler and Wine; bug fixes in KTorrent and NTFS-3G. For a more detailed changelog please see the full release announcement (in Chinese). Interested beta testers can download the installation CD or DVD from here (MD5): MagicLinux-2.1.rc2.dvd-1.iso (962MB), MagicLinux-2.1.rc2.cd-1.iso (700MB).

Martin Ultima has announced the availability of the second beta release of Ultima Linux 8.4, a Slackware-inspired distribution for desktops and servers: "This is planned as the last beta release before 8.4 final. All packages are built (although most are only available from the repository, not on the CD); various bugs -- including ATI drivers, CD-ROM permissions and symbolic links, installation issues -- have been fixed; stability has, for the most part, been vastly improved. There have been a few minor package updates, but hopefully not enough to cause massive breakage (still kernel 2.6.24.7, GCC 4.3.0, glibc 2.7, KDE 3.5.9). I'd actually release this as final, except there's a couple small bugs (CD eject on shutdown) remaining, as well as a pretty big one with Broadcom wireless cards." For more information please see the release announcement and release notes. Download: ultimalinux-8.4pre2_Desktop-x86-LiveCD.iso (681MB, MD5), ultimalinux-8.4pre2_Desktop-AMD64-LiveCD.iso (698MB, MD5).

Robert Lange has announced the availability of the first public alpha release of VectorLinux 6.0. It's main new feature? A graphical system installer: "VectorLinux Standard 6.0-alpha2 is up and ready to be tested. There are many changes since the first alpha release. The testers were pretty unanimous in stating that GNOME was not the proper desktop environment for the Standard edition and Xfce 4 should remain, with LXDE as the secondary choice. So with this release there is no GNOME and Xfce 4 has been reinstated as the primary desktop. We have spent a tremendous amount of time on the new GUI installer and we really need you to test that part as 80% of our effort has been on improving the installer. The GUI installer is not complete yet, but we need your feedback as to the present state of development." Read the rest of the release announcement for more details. Download: VL6.0-STD-A0.12.iso (526MB).

BOSS GNU/Linux is a Debian-based GNU/Linux desktop distributions developed in India, supporting a number of Indian languages. Yesterday a new major version was announced on the project's web site: "Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) has launched its Bharat Operating Systems Solutions (BOSS) GNU/Linux software version 3.0, developed by NRCFOSS (National Resource Centre for Free/Open Source Software). BOSS version 3.0 is coupled with GNOME and KDE desktop environments with a wide Indian language support and packages that are relevant for use in the government domain. The software is also endowed with Bluetooth for short range of communications along with salient features like RSS feed reader and PDF viewer. The objective of creating BOSS Linux is to enable the non-English speaking people of India to be exposed to the benefits of free and open source software and GNU/Linux." Here is the complete press release. Download: boss-3.0-i386.iso (1,262MB, MD5).

Steve Langasek has announced the fifth alpha release of Ubuntu 8.10, code name "Intrepid Ibex": "Welcome to Intrepid Ibex Alpha-5, which will in time become Ubuntu 8.10. New features in Intrepid: the newest GNOME 2.23.91 desktop environment with tons of bug-fixes and new features; X.Org 7.4 brings much better support for hot-pluggable input devices such as tablets, keyboards, and mice; Linux kernel 2.6.27 with better hardware support and numerous bug-fixes; encrypted private directory with support for a secret encrypted folder; guest session, a temporary password-less user account with restricted privileges; Network Manager 0.7 which comes with long-expected features, such as system wide settings, management of 3G connections (GSM/CDMA), management of multiple active devices at once, management of PPP and PPPoE connections...." Read the release announcement and take a look at the comprehensive release notes for more information. Download (MD5): intrepid-desktop-i386.iso (696MB, torrent), intrepid-desktop-amd64.iso (697MB, torrent). Also released were 8.10 Alpha 5 CD images for Kubuntu (download, release notes) and Xubuntu (download).

Troy Dawson has announced the release of Scientific Linux 4.7, an updated build of the project's legacy version based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 4: "Scientific Linux 4.7 has been released. It doesn't have any exciting new features, it is just a nice, stable release. Scientific Linux release 4.7 is based on the rebuilding of RPMs out of SRPMs from Enterprise 4, including Update 7. It also includes all errata and bug fixes up until September 03, 2008." Scientific Linux enhances the standard RHEL with a number of applications, including a cluster suite, the FUSE file system, IceWM window manager, Intel wireless firmware, Java, MadWifi, OpenAFS file system and others. For more information please see the release announcement and read the comprehensive release notes. Scientific Linux 4.7 is available for both the i386 and x86_64 architectures and comes in the form of 6 CD images, downloadable from the project's main FTP server and mirrors.

Louisa Luciani has announced the release of DragonFly BSD live DVD, an installable live image of the current DragonFly BSD development tree, which boots into Fluxbox as its graphical desktop: "The first version of the DragonFly BSD live DVD is done! Besides the full DragonFly BSD base system, the DVD includes an X desktop, a basic set of utilities and applications, and installation tools. Certain directories, are remounted read-write using MFS, and without swap this live DVD will not work well with less than 256 MB of RAM. This live DVD is meant to be useful for testing hardware compatibility, and some core aspects of the DragonFly BSD operating system. Please keep in mind though that it is undergoing development and should still be considered experimental. As always, back up important data before making any changes to your hard disk." Read the release announcement and release notes for further details and screenshots. Download: dfly-guidvd-2.1A.iso.bz2 (392MB).

Lucas Holt has announced the release of MidnightBSD 0.2.1, a FreeBSD derivative with the goal of creating a BSD with ease of use and simplicity in mind: "MidnightBSD 0.2.1 has been released. This version focused on adding hardware for newer devices including ATI, NVIDIA and Intel SATA controllers, and wireless support standard. A great deal of work was put into creating packages with over 2,000 packages available on our FTP server. The new release includes two CDs of packages plus X11 on disc1. Other software updated: GCC 3.4.6, BIND 9.4.2-p1, Sendmail, bzip2, OpenSSH 5.0p1, PCC compiler added (i386), removal of GNU cpio for BSD licensed version, cpdup added, IPv6 fixes, mksh added. Users who install KDE from the ISOs will be able to enable graphical login on boot-up. A script now runs on the first boot asking to enable BSDStats and 'graphical desktop environment'." See the full release announcement for additional details. Download: 0.2.1-RELEASE-i386-disc1.iso (512MB, MD5).

PC/OS is a user-friendly distribution based on Xubuntu, with out-of-the-box support for popular multimedia formats, Flash and Java, and addition of packages for content creation and software development. An updated release, version 2008v2, was announced yesterday: "We are proud to announce the general availability of PC/OS 2008v2. This update brings to PC/OS all the bug fixes and distribution updates for Ubuntu 8.04.1, as well as separate application updates for some of the installed packages. Some of the highlights of the client release are: Linux kernel 2.6.24; Flock browser replaces Firefox; MPlayer and GNOME MPlayer replace Movie Player; Audacious and gtkpod replace Rhythmbox; Screenlets 1.4 are now included; for dial-up users GNOME PPP is included. We have also included Picasa for photo management and Google Gears for offline access to Google Applications." Read the rest of the release announcement for further information. Download the OpenWorkstation DVD from here: pc-os2008v2dvd.iso (1,033MB, MD5).

Jani Monoses has announced the release of Kiwi Linux 8.08, an Ubuntu-based distribution with support for multimedia codecs, encrypted DVDs, Flash and other desktop conveniences: "Kiwi Linux 8.08 is a desktop CD derivative based on Ubuntu 8.04.1 LTS for the x86 architecture. It contains packages necessary for playing restricted audio, video and Flash formats by default and supports the SpeedTouch 330 USB ADSL modem. Differences with respect to Ubuntu 8.04.1: packages up to date as of 28 August 2008; Thunderbird as the default mail client, Audacious as the default music player; Flash plugin and all GStreamer codecs; Compiz extra settings GUI; unrar and MS TrueType fonts; a graphical tool for restoring GRUB; Midnight Commander; the Medibuntu repositories enabled by default to allow installing w32codecs, Skype and Google Earth." Read the full release announcement for more details. Download (MD5): kiwi-8.08.iso (697MB, torrent).

Japan's Turbolinux has announced the availability of Turbolinux 12 (marketing name: Turbolinux Client 2008 Net User Package), a commercial, user-friendly desktop Linux distribution that combines the best of open source and proprietary software in one compact package. The system is based on a Linux kernel 2.6.24.7 (co-developed at Mambo-Labs in cooperation with Mandriva) and includes KDE 3.5.8 as the default desktop, ATOK X3 Japanese input method, StarSuite office suite, NVIDIA and ATI proprietary graphics drivers, a software update tool and other conveniences. The product is available from several online retailers for ¥9,800 (US$90). For more information please read the press release and visit the product pages (both links in Japanese). For those who wish to test-drive the product prior to purchase, Turbolinux has also released a live CD edition (installable, but stripped of commercial software), which can be downloaded from here - after filling in a simple registration form. Note: Languages other than Japanese are not supported.

Kris Moore has announced the availability of the first beta release of PC-BSD 7.0, a user-friendly desktop operating system based on FreeBSD 7.0: "The PC-BSD team is pleased to announce the immediate availability of PC-BSD version 7-BETA1! This release marks the first PC-BSD based on FreeBSD 7-STABLE and the KDE 4.1 desktop, and also provides many new ways to install, including DVD, USB and network/Internet installation choices. Our PBI site has also been updated with a wide variety of software ready for PC-BSD 7, with more being added weekly. This release is beta, which means things are still being worked on and fixed in preparation for the final release. Users are encouraged to report bugs to our bug database or our testing mailing list." More information can be found in the release announcement, release notes and changelog. Download the installation DVD image from here: PCBSD7-x86-BETA1-DVD.iso (1,989MB, MD5, torrent).

Ekin Meroğlu has announced the first beta release of Pardus Linux 2008.1: "We're happy to announce Pardus 2008.1 Beta, the first beta for the upcoming Pardus 2008.1. Some of the highlights are: a new version of Network Manager with ad-hoc, 802.1x and connection sharing capabilities; the new stable version of KDE 3 - KDE 3.5.10; Linux kernel 2.6.25.16 - the latest stable release of Linux Kernel 2.6.25; Swedish language support; KDE 3 live CD, KDE 4 one is planned to be released soon; all the enhancements and bug fixes since the release of Pardus 2008. We would like to remind you that this is not a final version, and should not be installed on production machines. We did our best to fix all bugs, however, should you find one, do not hesitate to enter a report in our bug reporting system." Here is the complete release announcement. Download the installation or live (Calisan) CD from here: Pardus_2008.1_Beta.iso (697MB, MD5), Pardus_Calisan_2008.1_Beta.iso (697MB, MD5).

Daniel Baumann has announced the availability of the first set of live CD images for Debian GNU/Linux 5.0 "Lenny", complete with a hard disk installer and available in three desktop variants (GNOME, KDE and Xfce): "The Debian Live team is pleased to announce the first beta of Debian Lenny's Live images. This is the first official release of Debian Live and the whole team has been working hard during the past 2.5 years to make Debian's own live systems become a reality. Main features: 100% Debian; Live Magic - a GUI front-end around the live-helper scripts, offering a subset of the features of live-helper in an easy-to-use graphical user interface; Live Installer - a special udeb for the Debian Installer that installs the system from the live image." Read the full release announcement for more details and known issues. Download (MD5): debian-live-lenny-i386-gnome-desktop.iso (733MB), debian-live-lenny-i386-kde-desktop.iso (702MB), debian-live-lenny-i386-xfce-desktop.iso (503MB). ISO images for the amd64 architecture are also available.

Warren Woodford has announced the availability of the first beta release of SimplyMEPIS 8.0, a beginner-friendly desktop Linux distribution based on Debian GNU/Linux: "First beta of SimplyMEPIS 8.0 available for testing. Warren announces the first SimplyMEPIS Beta, version 7.9.70. The MEPIS beta offers up-to-date user applications delivered on top of the new Debian 'Lenny' core. Some of the important packages included with the beta are: Linux kernel 2.6.26.2, X.Org 7.3, KDE 3.5.9, OpenOffice.org 3.0beta2, Firefox 3.0.1, Sun Java 6.0, Amarok 1.4.10, MPlayer 1.0.rc2, GTK+ 2.12.11, and Qt 4.4.0." The measly release announcement doesn't give away any other useful information, but interested beta testers are welcome to download the installable live CD images and start testing. Get them from here: SimplyMEPIS-CD_7.9.70-beta_32.iso (651MB, MD5), SimplyMEPIS-CD_7.9.70-beta_64.iso (666MB, MD5).

The second and final release candidate for Frugalware Linux 0.9 is out and ready for testing: "The Frugalware developer team is pleased to announce the immediate availability of Frugalware Linux 0.9rc2, the second release candidate of the upcoming 0.9 stable release. A short and incomplete list of changes since 0.9rc1: the default vi editor is now Elvis instead of Nvi (as Elvis has fewer dependencies); added crosscompile support to distcc; package updates - Linux kernel 2.6.26 + fixes, GNOME 2.22.3, Git 1.6.0, more than 100 other package updates; new packages - official Synaptics touchpad driver from X.Org, utilities for the HFS+ file system, eight new Drupal modules, more than 20 other new packages." Here is the brief release announcement. Download: frugalware-0.9rc2-i686-dvd1.iso (4,248MB, MD5, torrent). The final release of Frugalware Linux 0.9 is expected on September 9th.

Randy McMurchy has announced the release of Beyond Linux From Scratch (BLFS) 6.3, a book that provides detailed build instructions for extending a base Linux From Scratch (LFS) system with popular desktop and server packages and their libraries: "The BLFS Development team is pleased to announce the release of the 6.3 version of BLFS. Many new packages have been introduced in the 6.3 version, as well as many updates, refinements and additions to the existing packages. The BLFS book now provides build and configuration instructions for almost 500 packages. Some of the new packages introduced in this version are: Dash, ksh, D-Bus bindings, Wireshark, rxvt-unicode, Gutenprint, Pidgin, GnuTLS, Qt version 4.x, GnuPG version 2.x, and Amarok. Major updates include GNOME 2.18.3, KDE 3.5.9, Firefox 2.x, Thunderbird 2.x, and most of the mainline server packages." Read the release announcement and release notes for further information. The BLFS 6.3 book is available in both HTML and PDF formats.

Attila Craciun has announced a new edition of Bluewhite64 Linux, a Slackware-based distribution recompiled for the x86_64 architecture. This is the first 64-bit live DVD containing the recently released Slackware implementation of KDE 4.1: "I have the joy announcing a new version of the Bluewhite64 Linux 12.1 KDE4 LiveDVD RC 1. This release is built on a fresh install of the standard version of Bluewhite64 Linux 12.1 and includes all patched packages from the patches directory and the newly released KDE 4.1. Also, in addition to this release, we have added KDE4 applications like Amarok 1.90, Guidance Power Manager 4.1.0, Krusader 2.0.0, KTorrent 3.1.2, KDE3 runtime libraries, and much more." Here is the complete release announcement. Download: Bluewhite64-12.1-KDE4-LiveDVD-RC1.iso (1,912MB, MD5).

Jereme Hancock has announced the release of Ubuntu Christian Edition 4.0: "We are excited to announce the release of Ubuntu Christian Edition 4.0. Ubuntu Christian Edition has been on hold for quite a while for various reasons, but we are back up and running. This is a 'back to the basics' release. We have discontinued most of the Windows program installers that we had in previous releases due to the difficulty in maintaining them and changes in some of the Windows programs that made it very difficult to install them automatically. We have added BibleTime as well as a bunch more resources for BibleTime and GnomeSword. We have replaced OpenOffice.org with GNOME Office to keep the ISO size below the 700 MB threshold. We have also updated the site with a cleaner web 2.0 feel." See the release announcement and changelog for further information. Download: Ubuntu_8.04_i386_Christian_Edition_v4.0.iso (675MB, MD5).

Brian Brazil has announced the release of gNewSense 2.1, an updated version of the Ubuntu-based distribution which contains free software only: "I've just released the live CD for gNewSense 2.1, the second full release of 'DeltaH'. This brings in a number of updates, fixes and improvements. Changes since 2.0 include: Linux-ubuntu-modules cleared of non-free blobs; usplash added; new theme and artwork; re-added fix for module-init-tools for eepro100; builder - live CD no longer asks for password on sudo; builder - added support for extra repositories in python-apt; builder - various tweaks, fixes and improvements. Upgrading from 1.9/2.0: Follow the upgrade notifications in GNOME. There's no need to download the 2.1 CD. To change to the gNewSense theme in GNOME, go to System -> Preferences -> Appearance. Select 'gNewSense' in the 'Themes' tab and press 'Close'." Read the full release announcement for more details. Download: gnewsense-livecd-deltah-2.1.iso (604MB, MD5, torrent).

George Vlahavas has announced the final release of Zenwalk Linux 5.2 "GNOME" edition: "Zenwalk GNOME 5.2 is now available. Based on Zenwalk current, it features the latest stable GNOME 2.22.3 Desktop, with a familiar Zenwalk desktop layout and beautiful Zenwalk artwork. Included in this release are Linux kernel 2.6.25.4, the latest X.Org 7.3 suite of X servers and the next generation of the Netpkg package manager. Zenwalk GNOME follows the 'one application per task' philosophy: Iceweasel and Icedove for all your browsing and email needs, wicd for easy connecting to wireless networks, Brasero for burning CD/DVD discs, AbiWord and Gnumeric for your office needs, the GIMP for editing graphics files and photos, gtkam for managing your digital camera and gmusicbrowser for handling huge collections of music. Totem is the multimedia player of choice." Here is the complete release announcement. Download: zenwalk-gnome-5.2.iso (598MB, MD5).

MEPIS has announced a new release of antiX, a Debian-based distribution designed to run on computers with older or limited hardware: "Anti and MEPIS announce the release of antiX MEPIS 7.5 'Toussaint Louverture'. Built using the MEPIS Linux 7.0 core, including the MEPIS 2.6.22 kernel and utilities, along with selected additions from Debian 'Lenny', this light-weight operating system is especially appropriate for older hardware and users who like a very fast and highly configurable system. New features based on community contributions are led by the antiX Control Centre, which provides a single place for managing desktop, system, network, and hardware. Also the well-tested smxi script permits the user to maintain a rolling upgrade of kernels and drivers." Read the rest of the release announcement for more information. Download: antiX-M7.5.iso (393MB, MD5).

A new development build of Elive, a Debian-based distribution featuring the latest Enlightenment 17 desktop, is available for testing: "The Elive team is proud to announce the release of development version 1.8.4. This version has some important fixes: fast boot mode removed - it is not really useful since it is not possible to accelerate the boot for generic machines; Linux kernel - back to the old mode configuration, if you had problems booting the previous version of Elive, your system should boot with this one; drivers - added 2 new branches of Ralink drivers that are needed for the Eee PC model 1000H; VFAT - fixed a small bug that caused the /mnt/Windows_C partition to not mount by default; installer translated to Spanish; enhanced menus support for Windows applications; E17 Annoying bug with the mouse temporarily fixed with a downgrade." Here is the complete release announcement. Download: elive_1.8.4_unstable.iso (686MB, MD5).

Christoph Thiel has announced the second alpha release of openSUSE 11.1, in the form of installation DVD images: "openSUSE 11.1 Alpha 2 is available and ready for testing. This time it is actually installable and bootable, but you'll need to be quick and select the right boot option from the boot menu. Due to a bug "Failsafe" is the default boot option. Please make sure to always select real "openSUSE 10.0.42 - 2.6.26-14" option! On x86_64, please make sure to always disable the image-based installation from the summary screen, before the actual installation starts! There will be no live CDs with this alpha, but we are planning on doing an alpha 2 plus live CD next week." Find more information, known issues and workarounds in the release announcement. The DVD images are available for download via BitTorrent: openSUSE-11.1-Alpha2-DVD-i386.iso (4,190MB), openSUSE-11.1-Alpha2-DVD-x86_64.iso (4,300MB).

Adam Williamson has announced the availability of the second beta release of Mandriva Linux 2009: "Mandriva is proud to announce the release of Mandriva Linux 2009 Beta 2 'okapi'. This beta includes a completely new installer for the Free (and, in the final release, Powerpack) edition, and is testing the Fedora system-config-printer printer configuration tool as an alternative to printerdrake. The new beta also brings Firefox 3, OpenOffice.org 3.0 beta, and support for the Ethernet adapter used in many new Eee PC (and other netbook) models. As always, Mandriva reminds you not to use pre-releases in any critical situation; install them only on a test system or partition, or in a virtual machine. Additionally, we strongly discourage using this pre-release to upgrade from any earlier release of Mandriva Linux." Read the release announcement and release notes for more details. Download: mandriva-linux-free-2009-okapi-dvd-i586.iso (3,950MB, MD5), mandriva-linux-free-2009-okapi-dvd-x86_64.iso (3,982MB, MD5).

The first alpha release of Mythbuntu 8.10, a project developing an easy-to-use MythTV system based on Ubuntu, is out: "Today we are introducing the first Mythbuntu 'Intrepid Ibex' alpha release: Mythbuntu 8.10 alpha 4. It is very important to note that this release is not compatible with Mythbuntu 7.10 or any other MythTV 0.20.2-based distribution. Changes from Mythbuntu 8.04: default guided partitioning - the guided partitioning tool in the installer will now default to XFS instead of ext3; Mythbuntu Apple trailers - the Apple trailer plugin has been forked and is now being kept by our very own 'foxbuntu', it is installable from MCC or Synaptic and accessible from the front-end; stability - lots of bug fixes across the board in Ubiquity and Mythbuntu control centre, several MythTV bugs that were sent upstream got fixed." Here is the full release announcement. Download the live CD images from here: mythbuntu-8.10-alpha4-desktop-i386.iso (601MB, MD5), mythbuntu-8.10-alpha4-desktop-amd64.iso (639MB, MD5).

JÃŒrg Billeter has announced the release of paldo GNU/Linux, a hybrid (source and binary) distribution for the desktop with a custom package management system: "We are pleased to announce the release of paldo 1.15 with many bug fixes and updates. It features the latest stable GNOME 2.22.3 desktop, OpenOffice.org 2.4.1, Firefox 3.0.1, Eclipse 3.4, and VirtualBox 1.6.2. Also included are Linux kernel 2.6.25.15 to support new devices, X.Org 7.3, updated proprietary drivers for NVIDIA and AMD graphic cards, and Wammu 0.27 to simplify cell phone synchronization. NetworkManager 0.7 enables easy Internet connections with GSM/UMTS and DSL. With SMPlayer 0.6.1 playing videos and DVDs has a new comfort. The easy-to-use graphical installer has been updated to make the installation from the Live CD as simple as possible. All packages have been rebuilt with the updated toolchain: GCC 4.3 and glibc 2.8." Visit the project's home page to read the release announcement. Download the live DVD images from here: paldo-live-cd-x86-stable.iso (670MB, MD5), paldo-live-cd-x86_64-stable.iso (698MB, MD5).

Urs Beyerle has announced the release of the Live CD/DVD edition of Scientific Linux 5.2, a Red Hat-based distribution enhanced with scientific and educational software: "Scientific Linux Live CD/DVD 5.2 has been released for i386 and x86_64 architectures. New feature: changes can be stored persistently on a storage device like a USB key. Together with the possibility to start the live CD from a USB key, this feature allows you to carry around a portable Scientific Linux live system on a single USB stick. Features: can be installed to local hard disk, runs from USB key, can be mounted over NFS (diskless client). Software: Linux kernel 2.6.18, OpenAFS client 1.4.7, X.Org 7.1, 3D desktop with Compiz and AIGLX; ALSA sound libraries 1.0.14, GNOME 2.16.0 (standard desktop on live CD), KDE 3.5.4 (only on live DVD), OpenOffice.org 2.3.0, Firefox 3.0...." Read the complete release announcement for further information. Download the live DVD images from here: livedvd_SL52_2008-08-14.iso (2,475MB, MD5), livedvd64_SL52_2008-08-14.iso (2,509MB, MD5).

With the 2008 Olympic Games now in full swing in Beijing, China's most prominent Linux vendor, Red Flag, has announced the availability of a special "Olympic" edition of Red Flag Linux. This is a preview of the upcoming stable release 7.0. The product is an installable live CD that boots into a customised KDE 4.1 desktop featuring an Olympic theme. It includes a (beta) migration wizard allowing import of passwords, settings and data from a Windows partition. Among the main components, this release comes with Linux kernel 2.6.25, glibc 2.8, GCC 4.3.1, xorg-server 1.4.99, Qt 4.4.0, Firefox 3.0 and Wine 1.0. The announcement also mentions a few known issues regarding certain audio drivers and Intel graphics cards; these should be corrected in the next release. More details and download links are available in the release announcement (in Chinese). Interested testers can get the live CD image from here: olympic7.iso (665MB, MD5). The system supports both the simplified and the traditional variants of Chinese, as well as English.

The current stable Ubuntu combined with the latest Enlightenment 17 - that's OpenGEU 8.04, whose first beta was announced yesterday: "The i386 beta live CD of OpenGEU 8.04 'Luna Crescente' is here. Download it, seed it, spread it and install it if you don't have OpenGEU yet. Or you can just upgrade from a previous OpenGEU system following our guide. If you prefer, install our distribution from packages. The Beta release is somehow a release candidate and I'm going to build a live CD for 64-bit machines too. The new Ubuntu is close and this release is getting somehow weird in timing but fear not, it is a great release and it works really fine, there has been tons of updates and new software. Enjoy the great work of the OpenGEU team and thanks to every single member who made developing a user friendly E17 system possible!" Here is the brief release announcement. Download the live CD image via BitTorrent (link in the announcement).

ClarkConnect 4.3, a specialist server and gateway distribution based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux, has been released: "ClarkConnect Server and Gateway Community edition 4.3 is now available. What's new? The Office edition and Enterprise edition products have now merged! Unlimited mailboxes are now included in the Enterprise edition and this includes full groupware support. The full list of changes is available in the developer change log -- highlights include: Groupware support in webmail, OpenVPN for road warriors, system processes viewer, mail queue manager, RAID manager, default security keys for users, remote backup (beta). Known issues: blank screens on first boot with some types of hardware; some legacy Dell/MegaRAID RAID cards are not supported; localization is incomplete." See the detailed release notes for further information. Download (MD5): community-4.3.iso (513MB).

Randy McMurchy has announced the availability of the third release candidate for Beyond Linux From Scratch (BLFS) 6.3, an online book providing instructions for extending a base Linux From Scratch (LFS) system into a more complete desktop or server distribution: "The BLFS Development team is pleased to announce the release of the 6.3-rc3 version of BLFS. This is a release candidate of the 6.3 version, due to be released on August 24th." What's new? "The BLFS book now provides build and configuration instructions for almost 500 packages. Some of the new packages introduced in this version are: Dash, ksh, D-Bus bindings, Wireshark, rxvt-unicode, Gutenprint, Pidgin, GnuTLS, Qt version 4.x, GnuPG version 2.x, and Amarok. Major updates include GNOME 2.18.3, KDE-3.5.9, Firefox-2.x, Thunderbird-2.x, and most of the mainline server packages." Read the release announcement and release notes for more information. The BLFS 6.3 RC3 book is available in HTML and PDF formats.

Miklós Vajna has announced that the first release candidate for Frugalware Linux 0.9 is now ready for testing: "The Frugalware developer team is pleased to announce the immediate availability of Frugalware 0.9rc1, the first release candidate of the upcoming 0.9 stable release. A list of changes since 0.9pre2: removed empty documentation files (README, NEWS, etc.) from /usr/share/doc; fixed installation in VirtualBox; replaced Firefox Adblock with Firefox adblock_plus; the ROX environment is now available on x86_64 as well; more than 800 small changes; package updates - glibc 2.8, Firefox 3.0.1, OpenOffice.org 2.4.1, more than 400 other package updates; new packages - dblatex (produces DVI, PostScript, PDF documents from DocBook sources), WxRuby (wxWidgets bindings for Ruby), ten new games, more than 70 other new packages." Here is the complete release announcement. Download (MD5): frugalware-0.9rc1-i686-dvd1.iso (4,239MB).

xPUD is a specialist edition of PUD GNU/Linux, a minimalist Debian-based Linux live medium designed primarily for USB storage devices. A new development version of xPUD was released yesterday: "We're glad to release a development version of xPUD. In fact, this is a 'lite' edition compared to the 'standard' live USB structure, but it contains many interesting features and reaches a new milestone so we decided to make it 0.8. System: 31 MB, 7 seconds, including MPlayer, Firefox and Plate UI, the whole system is packed into a single image without APT/dpkg; XEmbed and screen resolution - Xvesa now support 1024x600 pixel screen resolution, it looks good on EeePC; USB 2.0 and file system - because we eliminated most of the kernel modules, the USB support and some common file systems, including FAT/VFAT, ext2/ext3 and NTFS are built-in." Read the full release announcement for further details. Download: xpud-0.8.iso (31.2MB), xpud-0.8.zip (30.5MB).

The Elive development team has released an updated unstable version of Elive, a Debian-based distribution featuring the latest Enlightenment 17 window manager: "The Elive Team is proud to announce the release of a much improved development version of Elive. This version includes a new installer with better and more user-friendly features. Other improvements: includes Firefox 3 with many nice features; the version of the Linux kernel 2.6.24.7 is updated with a better configuration for IDE, SATA and SCSI chipsets, so it should work on more computers; the MadWiFi driver updated with new HAL version, the newest Atheros cards are supported now; some changes to the hibernation method, it should work on more computers; implemented an auto-eject system; Qt/KDE application available for installation...." Here is the complete release announcement. Download: elive_1.8.2_unstable.iso (691MB, MD5).

Manuel Kasper has announced the release of m0n0wall 1.234, a minimalist firewall distribution based on FreeBSD: "I've decided to create one more release in the 1.2x stable branch to add source port randomization (for both NAT and the DNS forwarder). This is a recommended upgrade for all 1.2x users, no matter whether you're running a DNS server behind m0n0wall with NAT or not. Changelog: added source port randomization for ipnat; updated Dnsmasq to 2.45 (source port randomization); updated PHP to 4.4.9; bumped MFS size for firmware upgrades to 10 MB; changed ZoneEdit update server name to dynamic.zoneedit.com." Read the release announcement and changelog for further information. Download (MD5): cdrom-1.234.iso (5.78MB).

Here is a new option for the fans of Slackware Linux and the GNOME desktop - Zenwalk Linux 5.2 "GNOME" edition. A first beta build was released earlier today: "We are proud to announce that Zenwalk GNOME 5.2 beta is ready for testing. Based on Zenwalk current, it features the latest stable GNOME 2.22.3 desktop, customized with beautiful Zenwalk artwork. Also included are Linux kernel 2.6.25.4, the latest X.Org 7.3 suite of X servers and the next generation of the Netpkg package manager. Zenwalk GNOME follows the 'one application per task' Zenwalk philosophy and provides a complete programming environment for coders. Changes since the alpha version: all known problems and bugs have been fixed; it should work under VirtualBox now; Evince has taken its place in the ISO again; the Metacity compositor is now turned off by default." Read the short release announcement posted on Zenwalk's user forum. Download: zenwalk-gnome-5.2beta.iso (598MB, MD5).

Marcos Guglielmetti has announced a new stable release of Musix GNU+Linux, version 1.0R5, a Debian-based distribution designed primarily for musicians and other creative artists: "The Brazilian music teacher Gilberto Borges tells us that he has finished the last Musix GNU+Linux 1.0 stable version on CD, a 100% free operating system for artists focused on music production, based on Debian GNU/Linux and KNOPPIX. This version of Musix, 1.0R2R5, fully supports Brazilian Portuguese and English languages, and it partially supports Spanish, French, German and Italian. Borges highlights the updated packages: Muse 0.8.1a (light Audio and MIDI sequencer), Muse Score 0.9.2.2 (score editor), Painel Musix 1.7 (control panel), Rosegarden 1.7.0 (MIDI and Audio sequencer and score editor), knx-installer 0.3.19.90 (a bug fix for the ugly fonts)." Read the rest of the release announcement for more details. Download: musixbr1r2_musix1r5.iso (702MB, MD5).

The developers of gOS Linux have released what they call a "Gadgets" edition of their product, an Ubuntu-based Linux distribution featuring a variety of Goolge Gadgets and other desktop enhancements: "gOS 3 'Gadgets' instantly launches Google Gadgets for Linux on start-up, introducing over 100,000 possible iGoogle and Google Gadgets to the desktop. Google Documents, Calendar, and Mail launch in Mozilla Prism windows to closer resemble desktop applications. The newest release of Wine 1.0 is included to support thousands of Windows software for our advanced users. gOS 3 'Gadgets' is based on the solid Linux distribution base of Ubuntu 8.04.1. It is the third and the best version of the Linux OS that debuted at Wal-Mart stores less than one year ago." Visit the distribution's product page to read the release announcement. Download: gos-base-8041-20080807.iso (688MB, torrent).

The first release candidate for the KDE Community edition of Linux Mint 5 is out and ready for testing: "Linux Mint 5 'Elyssa' KDE Community edition RC1 (BETA 045) was released today. This is the first beta release of the KDE Community edition for Linux Mint 5, codename 'Elyssa', based on 'Daryna' and compatible with Ubuntu 'Hardy' and its repositories. Note: this is not a KDE 4 desktop. The packages and kernel were updated to be on par with Ubuntu 8.04.1. Mint applications: mintInstall, mintWifi, mintUpdate, mintAssistant, mintUpload (done via Konqueror). Known issues: the release notes link on the first page of the installer does not open Firefox; if you use a separate partition for /boot you will not get a graphical boot; because of compatibility problems PulseAudio was not included in this release...." Read the full release announcement and release notes for more details. Download: LinuxMint-5-KDE-BETA-045.iso (1,192MB, MD5).

Christian Metzen has announced the release of CCux Linux 0.9.9, an independently developed desktop distribution using the RPM package management system: "After two years without a new version, we are proud to announce the availability of CCux Linux 0.9.9. From now on CCux Linux is delivered as a DVD medium. Many new features have been implemented, the installer and installation system have been totally re-worked. We think this should be the best release ever. Some highlights: KDE 4.1.0; GNOME, Xfce, Fluxbox directly available for selection as a desktop environment via the installer; kernel 2.6.26; OpenOffice.org; VDR integration. There are many more things, but convince yourself!" Here is the brief release announcement. Download the installation DVD image from here: ccux-linux-0.9.9.iso (3,941MB, MD5).

The third release candidate of ClarkConnect 4.3, a Red Hat-based server distribution, is ready for testing: "Features: Remote backup service; Groupware via webmail; RAID manager; OpenVPN for desktops/laptops; Mail server queue management; System process viewer. Tweaks: Additional hardware driver support for 3Ware and Realtek; DHCP server enhancements; Suva bi-directional support. What's New? ... OpenVPN and SSL Certificates: In order to implement OpenVPN, security certificates are required. In order to ease some of the pain out of managing certificates, we are in the process of simplifying the user experience. Here are the steps to get OpenVPN running." Continue reading the release notes for further details. Interested testers can download the installation CD image here: community-4.3-rc3.iso (513MB, MD5).

Mandriva released the first beta of Mandriva Linux 2009.0: "Mandriva is proud to announce the release of Mandriva Linux 2009 Beta 1 'thornicrofti'. This beta includes the newest release of KDE 4, KDE 4.1 final (with initial implementation of the Mandriva Ia Ora theme, although this is not yet complete), and GNOME 2.23.5. It also uses Firefox 3 by default, and kernel 2.6.26 final. The new beta also switches to using splashy (rather than bootsplash) for boot and shutdown graphics, and adds synchronization support for Windows Mobile 2003 devices. As always, we remind you not to use pre-releases in any critical situation; install them only on a test system or partition, or in a virtual machine. Additionally, we strongly discourage using this pre-release to upgrade from any earlier release of Mandriva Linux, as the transition process from KDE 3 to KDE 4 is not yet fully implemented and you are likely to end up with an unusable system." Read the release announcement and release notes. Download the "Free" installation DVDs and "One" live/install CDs here: mandriva-linux...dvd-i586.iso (3,804MB, MD5), mandriva-linux...dvd-x86_64.iso (3,862MB, MD5), mandriva...KDE4-int-cdrom-i586.iso (701MB, MD5), mandriva...GNOME-int-cdrom-i586.iso (584MB, MD5).

Red Hat announced the official release of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 4.7: "Red Hat is pleased to announce the availability of 4.7 (kernel-2.6.9-78.EL) for the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 family of products. This release includes the following improvements: Virtualization Enhancements, Encryption and Security Enhancements, Tuning and Debugging: systemtap, Tools Enhancement, Networking and IPv6 Enablement, Storage Improvements, Platform Enhancements, Kernel Improvements, Laptop and Desktop Enhancements. The following Technology Preview features are new or enhanced in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.7: frysk; gcc4." Read the complete release announcement and release notes for details. Existent subscribers can obtain this release from Red Hat Networks.

The fourth update to Debian GNU/Linux 4.0 is available: "The Debian project is pleased to announce the fourth update of its stable distribution Debian GNU/Linux 4.0 (codename etch). In addition to correcting several security problems and a few serious defects in the stable release, for the first time in Debian's history an update for a stable distribution also adds support for newer hardware by giving users the option to install newer drivers. Existing Debian GNU/Linux 4.0 installation CDs and DVDs can continue to be used to install this update. After installation, upgrading via an up-to-date Debian mirror will cause any out of date packages to be updated. However, users of the network-console installation method are strongly encouraged to update their media, see the "Debian Installer" portion of this announcement for more information. Those who install updates frequently from security.debian.org won't have to update many packages and most updates from security.debian.org are included in this update." Read the rest of the release announcement for a detailed list of all changes. As always, Debian stable revisions are available for download via Debian's Advanced Package Tool (APT); alternatively, full CD and DVD images will be provided within the next few days.

Paul Sherman announced the release of Absolute Linux 12.1.05, a light-weight, Slackware-based distribution featuring the IceWM window manager: "Big change is with the installer, "Autoinstall" option that takes care of drive partitioning along with the Lilo setup, making install much easier for new-comers to Linux and/or text-based installation. The usual options for installation are also still available. Documentation (HTML instructions for the install) have been updated both online in the ZIP that contains the iso. Here's the changelog: Redesigned installer to include an "autoinstall" option; Corrected internal "name" of links2.desktop file; absgamma.py (utility to adjust gamma of monitor) updated; Java updated to jre-6u7; gnome-icon-theme added for compatibility with some apps; Svgpage moved to CD2." Check the release announcement (also here), changelog, and the package list. Download (MD5): absolute_12.1.05.zip (674MB).

Flavio Pereira de Oliveira today announced the availability of GoblinX Premium 2008.2, a Slackware-based desktop distribution and live CD: "Main upgrades since last stable release: Upgraded all packages. Upgraded Kernel (2.6.24.3), AuFS, Linux live and Squashfs. Added Bookmarks to GoblinX Panel. Added extra folders to be used as package repository. Added media package repository to Slapt-getrc. Added package upgrade check to Xfce panel with Xfce4-smartpm-plugin. Added interface to build module with Slapt-get help. Added initrd.img to be used by Suspend/Hibernate after install. Added Isolinux option to not load customization during boot..." Visit the project's news page to read the full announcement. The product is available from On-disk.com. All modules of the Premium edition can be found on http://goblinx.linuxish.net/modules/, and users can also rebuild another ISO file to add more modules.

Heiko Zuerker has announced the release of Devil-Linux 1.2.15, a live firewall and server distribution. "Devil-Linux 1.2.15 is available for download. The changes include lots of program and security updates. See the changelog for details." Among the changes are: ImageMagick can now correctly identify file types again; added arping tool; added dev86 to build environment; added hotfix to allow ntop links against net-snmp; added missing LSI fusion SCSI drivers to initial ramdisk; corrected DHCP compile; corrected motion compile; downgraded iptables to 1.3.7 (due to missing extensions, i.e. connlimit, time and others); increased compatibility of strongSwan for Windows and Cisco clients. Read the rather brief release announcement and the changelog for more information. Download (MD5): devil-linux-1.2.15-i486.tar.bz2 (206MB), devil-linux-1.2.15-i586-SMP.tar.bz2 (207MB), devil-linux-1.2.15-i686-SMP-server.tar.bz2 (210MB).

Martin Ultima announced a new beta release of Ultima Linux 8.4, a fast, powerful, and convenient computer operating system which emphasizes a "common sense" approach to development and eases common system administration tasks. "Right now it's only available as a slightly-more-bloated-than-usual x86 LiveCD; due mainly to size reasons, an AMD64 version has been postponed until a later date (but you can grab the new ultima-scripts and built it yourself, from the package repository). As far as the new codebase goes: The desktop code is essentially "feature-complete"; servers and development tools are a work in progress and will be the focus of the next beta. Among other features, in no particular order, we have kernel 2.6.24.7 with SquashFS+LZMA support; ext2/ext3, ReiserFS, XFS, and JFS filesystems (XFS default)..." See the release announcement and release notes for more information. Download (MD5) the live CD image: ultimalinux-8.4...LiveCD.iso (692MB). Update: The 64-bit version is now available: ultimalinux-8.4...AMD64-LiveCD.iso (703MB).

Patrick Verner announced the 3.0 release of Parted Magic, a specialist live CD distribution designed to facilitate hard disk management tasks: "This new release of Parted Magic has the most aggressive changelog of any release to date. Almost everything has been updated and redesigned while doing our best to maintain the same user interface. The most significant changes are the additions of HAL and dbus, new Xorg server, basic wireless detection, FireFTP, udpcast, Linux-2.6.26, and many other updated and new programs. Parted Magic also has a new GRUB version of the iso and the USB version is GRUB-ready. People have been asking for a "Save Session" function and we added it." Visit the project's news page and check out the latest changelog for a complete list of fixes and package updates. Download: pmagic-3.0.iso.zip (43.8MB, MD5).

The second release candidate for Endian Firewall 2.2 "Community" edition, a firewall appliance based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux, was announced: "The Endian Team is glad to announce the latest release candidate of Endian Firewall Community. RC2 contains many bug fixes since the previous release candidate. Endian Firewall Community is an all-in-one Linux security distribution that turns every system into a full featured security appliance. Designed with usability in mind, Endian developed a solution that is extremely flexible, easy to install and manage. The Community version has been warmly embraced by the open source community... This is a bugfix release, for the full change log see http://bugs.endian.it/changelog_page.php. Happy Testing!" Read the release announcement for further information. Download: EFW-COMMUNITY-2.2-rc2-200807241531.iso (118MB, MD5).

Paul Cutler announced the release of Foresight Linux 2.0.4, an rPath-based distribution showcasing the latest GNOME technologies: "The Foresight project is excited to announce the latest release of Foresight, the Foresight GNOME Edition 2.0.4. This release features a brand new theme, and a number of minor updates and bug fixes, notably a problem when trying to install on certain RAID setups. This latest version also introduces the Foresight GNOME Lite Edition. For the first time, Foresight is available for installation on one CD, and features Foresight's lightning fast tar-based installer. This edition does not include OpenOffice.org and is English only to reduce installation size. Users who choose to install the Foresight GNOME Lite Edition can easily upgrade to the full version." Read the full release announcement and release notes for further details. Download (SHA1): foresight-2.0.4-x86-dvd1.iso (1,178MB, torrent), foresight-2.0.4-x86_64-dvd1.iso (1,251MB, torrent).

GaÃ«l Duval announced the availability of Ulteo Application System 1.02, code name "Sirius" Stable: "The Ulteo Application System is a FREE installable version of Ulteo, that ships with hundreds applications and innovative features that include: Global Ulteo authentication; Automatic data backup/synchronization to/from the Ulteo Online Desktop; "My Digital Life" panel to organize your digital life easier and better; Automatic system and application incremental upgrade; Very fast to install, very easy to use." "Sirius" Stable is an installable liveCD that offers a Windows alternative; it comes with a lot of applications by default, including Firefox 2.0 and OpenOffice.org 2.3. Learn more here. Download (MD5): ulteo-sirius-1.02-install-i386.iso (692MB). Also announced is Ulteo Virtual Desktop Beta3: "It allows you to use the best Linux applications on the Windows(TM) operating system. It's been designed for individuals and corporate users who want to have Linux and Windows applications together on the same desktop without the hassles of dual booting or virtualization. It already got great feedback from the IT press during the past three months. If you would enjoy Ulteo Virtual Desktop on a preloaded USB key that wouldn't require any installation, please let us know!" Learn more here.

A new version of IPCop, a user-friendly firewall distribution geared towards home and SOHO users, was released: "Update is split into two parts because of a kernel update to accommodate free space limitation. 1.4.19 contains some packages updates, most notably a dnsmasq update to be immune on recent dns advisory. 1.4.20 installs the second part of the kernel update and configure the new kernel. 1.4.19 could be installed separately from 1.4.20. A reboot is not needed after 1.4.19 installation... Changes summary: Upgrade openssh to 4.7p1; Include lzo binary so, it will match openssl version if openssl is updated; Update dnsmasq to 2.45; Update tzdata to 2008d; Update pcre from 7.4 to 7.7; Update apache to 1.3.41..." Read the detailed release notes. Download (MD5): ipcop-1.4.20-install-cd.i386.iso (50.3MB). Update:IPCop 1.4.21 released; only the update and the sources are available.

Jeff Moe announced a bug fix release of BLAG Linux And GNU labeled as 90001, a single-CD desktop distribution based on Fedora: "It comes on a single CD (684 megs), is easily installed, and user friendly. This release follows quickly on the heels of BLAG 90000, as there were a few annoying issues with that, some of which have been sorted, such as some broken dependencies. A number of packages have been added to the CD, some of which appeared in earlier blag releases, such as: bittorrent, freej, gcc, gqview, gthumb, thunderbird, vnc-server, xchat. The CD has 97 package updates including a new kernel-libre-2.6.25.10-86.fc9.1, firefox 3.0.1, gnome/gtk2/nautilus packages, pidgin, xorg and more... Known issues with this release: Use yum instead of apt, or uncomment GPG line in /etc/apt/apt.conf (or install those keys); Automajick kickstart installs are not currently available; On some installs you have to hit ctrl-alt-f7 after firstboot when you add a user; this is only needed the first time." Read the complete release announcement for further details. Download: BLAG-90001-i386.iso (684MB, SHA1SUM, torrent).

Ubuntu Muslim Edition (UbuntuME) 8.04.1, an Ubuntu-based distribution featuring Islamic software, a Quran study tool and a web content filtering utility, was released, in the form of not just an update but a full new DVD with tons of software: "The Ubuntu Muslim Edition team is proud to announce the release of UbuntuME 8.04.1. This release is only available as an installable DVD. Highlights: WebStrict (parental control tool) enabled by default (so as browsing the Internet is safe); Zekr 0.7.0 (Quran study tool) installed and configured to play Quran recitations; Minbar and Firefox "Pray Times" addon installed; Monajat (display Islamic prayers) Thwab (encyclopedia); UbuntuME artworks: usplash, login screen, Islamic wallpapers, theme etc." See the complete release announcement and release notes for more information. Download (MD5): ubuntuME-8.04.1-desktop-i386.iso.001 (1,980MB) and ubuntuME-8.04.1-desktop-i386.iso.002 (1,939MB). Also available via BitTorrent: ubuntuME-8.04.1-desktop-i386.iso (3,919MB).

Bogdan Radulescu announced the availability of the final version of NimbleX 2008, a Slackware-based mini distribution: "This version gets significant cleanups since NimbleX 2008RC, Bluetooth finally works OK, some improvements to the USB installer, significant changes on how NimbleX boots from remote locations (PXE & HTTP), several bug fixes, updates and several other things. I managed to make NimbleX a little slimmer and I also managed to squeeze in the latest VirtualBox so that people can run/test other OSs inside NimbleX. Partimage was added so you can easily clone disks and partitions with NimbleX thus resulting in some mass deployment functionality when users know their way around Linux. I guess here a small tutorial will be posted at some point..." Read the full release announcement for more information. Download (MD5): NimbleX-2008.iso (200MB).

Following version 0.6 just four days ago, a new version of xPUD was released today, boasting "same features, 20% smaller": "xPUD is a small and fast booting LiveUSB, usually boots into X within 15-seconds, and starts an easy-to-use UI as soon as possible. Being a Ubuntu derivative with APT/dpkg system, the rootfs is quite small: only 67MB of core image, including Ubuntu 8.04 compatible kernel, Xvesa as xserver, web browser (firefox), media player (mplayer) and input method (scim). This project is under heavy development, and we're looking forward to any kind of feedback, please visit http://xpud.org/ for more information." Read the release notes. Download: xpud-0.7.zip (76.3MB, MD5).

After almost two and a half years' development, a release candidate of Magic Linux, a community distribution from China, is now ready for download and testing. Updates since beta 2 include: numerous upgraded packages like the Linux kernel, JRE, Firefox, K3b and lrcShow-II; amended packages of magic-system-config, initscripts, hal, and Amarok; some applications replaced with newly introduced packages for the sake of better user experience; added packages like lynx and kdegraphics-extras; new policy on kernels and USB automount; expanded Magic Linux depository. This release is available as a DVD edition, a cut down CD edition, and a live CD edition with a user account magiclinux:linuxfans and a superuser account root:magicfans. More details can be found in the release announcement (in simplified Chinese). Download: MagicLinux-2.1.rc1.dvd-1.iso (946MB, MD5), MagicLinux-2.1.rc1.cd-1.iso (693MB, MD5), MagicLinux-2.1.rc1.livecd-1.iso (606MB, MD5).

Matthew Dillon announced the availability of DragonFly BSD 2.0: "2.0 is our eighth major DragonFly release. DragonFly's policy is to only commit bug fixes to release branches." Changes in this release include: the HAMMER filesystem featuring crash recovery on-mount (without fsck) and queueless incremental mirroring, numerous kernel changes like native fairq-queue implementation and native connection state recovery, various hardware changes like added drivers and better USB survivability, userland changes like blacklist for weak Debian-generated SSH keys and improved manual pages and documentation, a lot of contributed software like new versions of BIND, OpenSSH, tnftpd, and GCC. Fortran was removed from the base system, along with other old stuff like legacy device drivers. See the rather brief release announcement and the detailed 2.0 release notes for more information. Download (MD5): dfly-2.0.0_REL.iso.gz (129MB, torrent).

The first update to the 0.7 release of BeleniX, a live CD based on OpenSolaris, is now available: "This update brings in the latest development OpenSolaris build 93 and updates to KDE 3.5.9 among other changes, bugfixes. Since this release also includes the latest Caiman installer, upgrades from this release will become possible going forward. A complete list of changes is below: Based on ON Build 93 that has new drivers (like ATIgfx) among other stuff; Included the rum driver; Nvidia driver updated to 173.14.05; OSS updated to 4.0-1016; Updated Fully Open X bits; KDE updated to 3.5.9 and some upstream patches removed; Firefox 3.0.1; /sbin/sh is now ksh93; Sham's RAM based Boot integrated - In Grub screen select more options to see that boot option..." Read the full release announcement. Download (MD5): belenix_0.7.1.iso (696MB).

A new release of Absolute Linux, version 12.1.03, is ready for download; it is a release candidate as it is based on Slackware-current. Changes: "Updated firefox to 3.0.1; Updated nasm, dnsmasq and e2fsprogs, as well as ati, nv and intel video drivers; Added video drivers for Mach64 and r128; Mesa updated to 7.0.3 (bugfix release); Removed HPLIP for the time being; Tweaked .desktop file for avidemux and ROX sendto handling; Corrected unneeded import of wx in absAddUser.py script (causing it not to run on default install without wxPython installed)." Read the changelog and the package list. Download (MD5): absolute_12.1.03.zip (666MB). Update: version 12.1.04 is available for download, with CD2 of extra software.

The first release candidate (marked as BETA 025) for Linux Mint 5 "Elyssa" Xfce Community Edition is out and available for download: "This is the first BETA release of the Xfce Community Edition for Linux Mint 5, codename Elyssa, based on Daryna and compatible with Ubuntu Hardy and its repositories. All mint applications were improved in Elyssa. For the list improvements of mintUpdate, mintUpload and mintInstall, read the Elyssa Main release notes... mintUpdate was refactored and its memory usage was drastically reduced. On some systems the amount of RAM used by mintUpdate after a few days went from 100MB to 6MB. Mozilla also greatly improved the memory usage in Firefox between version 2 and 3. Elyssa comes with kernel version 2.6.24 which features a brand new scheduler called CFS (Completely Fair Scheduler). The kernel scheduler is responsible for the CPU time allocated to each process. With CFS the rules have changed." Read the full release notes and the brief release announcement for further information. Download: LinuxMint-5-XFCE-BETA-025.iso (682MB, MD5).

Patrice Guay announced the release of CentOS 5.2 i386 live CD: "The CentOS Development team is pleased to announce the availability of the CentOS 5.2 i386 Live CD. This CD is based on our CentOS-5.2 i386 distribution. It can be used as a Workstation, with the following software: openoffice.org 2.3.0, firefox 3.0, thunderbird 2.0.0, pidgin 2.3.1, scribus 1.3.3.2, xchat 2.6.6, k3b 0.12.17, gimp 2.2.13. It can also be used as a rescue CD with the following tools: memtest86+-1.65, Full set of LVM and RAID command line tools, QTParted, Nmap and NMapFE, traceroute, samba-3.0.28 with cifs kernel support to connect to Windows file shares, System Log Viewer, GUI Hardware Device Manager." See the release announcement and release notes for further information. Download: CentOS-5.2-i386-LiveCD.iso (697MB, SHA1SUM).

Rene Mayrhofer announced the release of Gibraltar Firewall 2.6, a Debian-based firewall distribution: "We are pleased to announce Gibraltar release 2.6. It will be the last version based on kernel 2.4, the next Gibraltar release 3.0 will use kernel 2.6. Major new features in this release include official support for "Snort" as intrusion detection system and full integration of the Puresight Enterprise variant for advanced user-based authorization and reporting. Additionally, this release: now allows SSL Explorer (TM) plugins to be installed; substantially improves traffic shaping performance; supports transparent virus scanning for HTTP, POP3, and FTP even without a harddisk; and includes the beginning of full WLAN access point functionality. At this time, Atheros-based cards are supported and can be configured via the web interface. Future releases will expand on this to e.g. include full 802.1x support." Read the full release announcement and changelog. Download: gibraltar-2.6.iso.bz2 (260MB, SHA1).

Christophe Lincoln announced a new beta (called Cooking) release of SliTaz GNU/Linux, perhaps the smallest desktop distribution on earth: "So, we released a new Cooking version with a lot of improvement from 1.0. SliTaz use Openbox has default Window manager and Obconf to configure it graphically, update to Kernel 2.6.25.5 with build-in support for XFS and wifi through the packages manager. The desktop avec icons, Packages can now be managed through the graphical Packages Manager Tazpkgbox. The image ISO of 28.6 MB provides also MPlayer, Notecase, Lua, Hardinfo, many updates and more than 200 packages added to the repository. SliTaz can now also boot from the Internet! Web boot for everyone with gPXE and http://boot.slitaz.org/." Read the official release announcement titled "Cooking 20080716 - Web boot and MPlayer" on SliTaz website. Download: slitaz-cooking.iso (28.6MB, MD5).

Jeff Moe announced the release of BLAG Linux And GNU 90000, a single-CD desktop distribution based on Fedora: "It has been a while since I've sent out an announcement, but quite a bit has happened since our last release, 70000. Alpha releases based on Fedora 8 and 9 made regular appearances. Linux-libre, a project to make a branch of the Linux kernel with non-free software removed, has flourished. This is the first "major" release of BLAG to include this kernel by default... We have a new repository tracking Fedora rawhide, with always the latest and greatest, it's BLAGHEAD: Software from the Future. A new mailing list has been added." Read the complete release announcement for further details. Download: BLAG-90000-i386.iso (606MB, SHA1SUM, torrent).

Yann Le Doaré announced a new release of LinuxConsole, an independently developed, modular Linux live CD: "This '1.0.2008' release has been built from a new toolchain based on gcc 4.2.2 and glibc 2.7. The 2.4 kernel is not available for that release, but you can continue using 2007 ISOs if you have to install linuxconsole on very old computers. The kernel is 2.6.25.4, patched with squashfs (module format for linuxconsole) and aufs (can write on modules). Since bootsplash is obsolete, usplash replaces it. GNOME is available in 2.20 release, since it's very stable; an update to 2.22 will be available soon. KDE is in 3.5.9 release, but not present on CD (not enough disk space). You can install it with modules manager or wait the 'DVD' release... DVD release will be ready in September." Visit the project's home page to read the full release announcement. Download: linuxconsole1.0.2008-cd.iso (681MB, MD5).

Steve Langasek announced the availability of the slightly delayed second alpha release of Ubuntu 8.10, code name "Intrepid Ibex": "Welcome to Intrepid Ibex Alpha-2, which will in time become Ubuntu 8.10. Pre-releases of Intrepid are *not* encouraged for anyone needing a stable system or anyone who is not comfortable running into occasional, even frequent breakage. They are, however, recommended for Ubuntu developers and those who want to help in testing, reporting, and fixing bugs. Alpha 2 is the second in a series of milestone CD images that will be released throughout the Intrepid development cycle. The Alpha images are known to be reasonably free of showstopper CD build or installer bugs, while representing a very recent snapshot of Intrepid." Read the release announcement and release notes for further details. The "alternate" installation images are available from mirrors: intrepid-alternate-i386.iso (697MB, MD5, torrent), intrepid-alternate-amd64.iso (696MB, MD5, torrent), along with "Server" ones. Also released: Kubuntu8.10 Alpha 2 and Xubuntu8.10 Alpha 2.

A new development version of Elive, a Debian-based distribution featuring the Enlightenment 17 window manager, has been released: "The Elive Team is proud to announce the release of development version 1.7.10. This release includes: Prism2: better prism2* wireless cards support. Flash: Macromedia Flash small update. Xorg: Xorg updates + a lot of fixes in Elive configurations of Xorg, some for Nvidia. e17: Some e17 gadgets configured on the fly. So for instance, if your computer supports cpufreq, that gadget is added automatically. Same with battery. If your computer does NOT support these features, the gadgets will not be added :). Drivers: New drivers added for: gigabit-ethernet Atheros cards, Fujistu Siemens Amilo M7400 laptop modules, HP Omnibook Pavillon, Toshiba Satellite, and some laptops manufactured by Compal Electronics, Ricoh R5u870 webcams supported, 'quickcam messenger' webcams supported too, 10-gigabit-ethernet Solarflare (solarstorm SFC4000) cards. ATI: fglrx updated to version 8.6. Nvidia: nvidia updated to version 173.14.09." Here is the complete release announcement. Download: elive_1.7.10_unstable.iso (672MB, MD5).

After an internal test version, the second (but first public) alpha release of Mandriva Linux 2009.0, unexpectedly announced as 2009 Spring Alpha 2, is hitting the mirror servers. "This alpha introduces several significant changes, most obviously the inclusion of KDE 4 - 4.1 beta 2, specifically - as the default version of KDE, and the latest development version of GNOME, 2.23.4. The kernel has also been updated to release 2.6.26rc7. We emphasize that the KDE change is a major one that is not yet entirely completed and likely to cause many bugs. As always - but more importantly than ever - we remind you not to use pre-releases in any critical situation; install them only on a test system or partition, or in a virtual machine. Additionally, we strongly discourage using this pre-release to upgrade from any earlier release of Mandriva Linux, as the transition process from KDE 3 to KDE 4 is not yet fully implemented and you are likely to end up with an unusable system." Read the release announcement and release notes for more information. Download the "Free" installation DVDs and "One" live CDs here: mandriva-linux...dvd-i586.iso (3,918MB, MD5), mandriva-linux...dvd-x86_64.iso (3,915MB, MD5), mandriva...KDE-int-cdrom-i586.iso (652MB, MD5), mandriva...GNOME-int-cdrom-i586.iso (555MB, MD5).

Flavio Pereira de Oliveira announced the availability of GoblinX 2.7 Standard, a Slackware-based desktop distribution and live CD: "After more than four months of development, as GoblinX 2.6 was released at February 18, we are pleased to announce the availability of the new stable edition... It includes five Windows Managers: KDE, Fluxbox, Xfce, Enlightenment and WindowMaker. Main upgrades since rc01 edition: Corrected some small errors and bugs. Upgraded some packages and libraries, including some security fixes. Added extra folders to be used as package repository. Added media package repository to Slapt-getrc. Added interface to build module with Slapt-get help. Added GUI for deactivate script to let anyone remove modules of the livecd. Added directly autologin to Xorg as user for the installed system. Added package upgrade check to Xfce panel with Xfce4-smartpm-plugin." Visit the project's news page to read the full announcement. Download: GoblinX-2.7.iso (305MB, MD5).

Paul Sherman has announced the release of Absolute Linux 12.1.02, the second bug-fix and security update of the stable 12.1 series: "Absolute Linux 12.1.02. Changes: Firefox updated to 3.0, this necessitated installation of XULRunner 1.9, which can also subsequently be used to build Firebird and other applications; MPlayer plugin on Firefox 3 is a wash - had to go with gecko-mplayer; updated PCMan File Manager with much more robust handling of file types; added isomaster for working with CD image files; added KFileReplace; added a few games (Monsterz, LBreakout2, Njam and BumpRace); added scripts and desktop files to convert FLV and OGG video to AVI; added lshw, along with script (run_lshw) that outputs in HTML format and opens the results in Links; updated to xorg-server 1.4.2; Fox (toolkit) and Fluxbox moved to CD2." Read the rest of the changelog for further details. Download (MD5): absolute_12.1.02.zip (673MB).

Miklós Vajna has announced the availability of the second pre-release of Frugalware Linux 0.9: "The Frugalware developer team is pleased to announce the immediate availability of Frugalware 0.9pre2, the second technical preview of the upcoming 0.9 stable release. A short and incomplete list of changes since 0.9pre1: FUN -0.3.0, which now supports news notification (newsletters, releases, etc.); many less popular packages are no longer installed by default, reducing the required size of the default installation; replaced the ipw wireless drivers with the newer iwl ones; reworked the ROX environment, binary packages are available again; more than 2,700 small changes; package updates - GCC 4.3.1, Firefox 3.0, OpenOffice.org 2.4.1; new packages - icecc (a set of configuration tools for IceWM), libotr and irssi-otr, 10+ new Fortune modules, 20+ new games, more than 200 other new packages." Here is the full release announcement. Download: frugalware-0.9pre2-i686-dvd1.iso (4,277MB, SHA1, torrent).

Gentoo Linux 2008.0 has been released: "The 2008.0 final release is out! Code-named 'It's got what plants crave,' this release contains numerous new features, including an updated installer, improved hardware support, a complete rework of profiles, and a move to Xfce instead of GNOME on the live CD. Live DVDs are not available for x86 or amd64, although they may become available in the future. The 2008.0 release also includes updated versions of many packages already available in your ebuild tree. Highlights: updated installer - the installer now only performs networkless installations using the packages and ebuild tree on the Live CD; improved hardware support - moving to the 2.6.24 kernel added many new drivers for hardware released since the 2007.0 release; updated packages - Portage 2.1.4.4, a 2.6.24 kernel, Xfce 4.4.2, GCC 4.1.2 and glibc 2.6.1." Read the complete release announcement for further information. Download the installable live CDs from here: livecd-i686-installer-2008.0-r1.iso (688MB, torrent), livecd-amd64-installer-2008.0-r1.iso (696MB, torrent).

Canonical has announced the availability of Ubuntu 8.04.1 LTS, the first update of a product that comes with free long-term security support: "The Ubuntu team is proud to announce the release of Ubuntu 8.04.1 LTS, the first maintenance update to Ubuntu's 8.04 LTS release. This is the first maintenance release of Ubuntu 8.04 LTS, which continues to be supported with maintenance updates and security fixes until April 2011 on desktops and April 2013 on servers. The Ubuntu team has focused their efforts on resolving issues reported by people deploying Ubuntu out in the real world, including: Firefox has been upgraded to the final 3.0 release; the Samba client allows LANMAN authentication again; various problems with the FUSE interface to GNOME's new virtual file system have been fixed...." Read the rest of the release announcement for further details. Download (MD5): ubuntu-8.04.1-desktop-i386.iso (694MB, torrent), ubuntu-8.04.1-desktop-amd64.iso (693MB, torrent). Other members of the Ubuntu family of distributions have also been updated; that includes Kubuntu (download) and Kubuntu-KDE4 (download), Xubuntu (download), Ubuntu Studio (download) and Mythbuntu (download).

Flavio Pereira de Oliveira has announced the release of GoblinX 2.7 Micro edition, a Slackware-based mini live CD with Fluxbox as the sole window manager: "GoblinX Micro 2.7 is released. GoblinX Micro is the smallest version of our distribution and contains only Fluxbox as a windows manager and GTK+ applications. Main upgrades since RC1: corrected some small errors and bugs; added xf86-video-openchrome and cdstatus; added an interface to build modules with Slapt-get help; added a GUI for removing modules from the live CD; added more Nautilus actions; added Totem as an audio CD player option; added extra folders to be used as a package repository; added a media package repository to Slapt-getrc; added some missing applications to Fluxbox menu; added bookmarks to Fluxbox menu; added a pre-defined menu with icons as an option; upgraded some packages and libraries." Visit the distribution's news page to read the full release announcement. Download (MD5): GoblinX.Micro-2.7.iso (100MB).

Christian dos Santos Ferreira has announced the release of Poseidon Linux 3.0, an Ubuntu-based distribution enhanced with software for scientific and academic purpose, including applications for numerical modelling, 2D/3D/4D visualisation and statistics: "Our team is proud to announce the new Poseidon Linux 3.0! Poseidon Linux was designed as a friendly and complete desktop, based on open source software and aimed at the scientific community. This operating system is based on Ubuntu and inspired by Quantian Linux. It offers several specific tools in the areas of GIS, 3D Visualization, Mathematics, Statistics and several other fields of research. It also has all the software expected in a modern desktop, such as office suites, web browsers, e-mail readers, etc. The new release supports Brazilian Portuguese, Spanish, English and German languages." Here is the brief release announcement (in Portuguese), and further information is also available on the project's English web site. Download (MD5): Poseidon_3.0.iso (1,693MB).

Paul Cutler has announced the release of Foresight Linux 2.0.3, an rPath-based distribution showcasing the latest GNOME technologies: "The Foresight team is proud to announce the latest release of Foresight Linux. Foresight 2.0.3 GNOME edition is a minor release, featuring the latest release of GNOME, 2.22.3. GNOME 2.22.3 features a new login manager for users, as well as a number of bug fixes and updates. Foresight 2.0.3 also includes Banshee 1.0 as the default media manager, an updated kernel, and a number of software updates. Foresight uses a rolling release - users who are already using Foresight have the option to install these updates via PackageKit. There is no need for users already using Foresight to download a new image, the updates are already available!" Read the release announcement and release notes for further details. Download (SHA1): foresight-2.0.3-x86-dvd1.iso (1,182MB), foresight-2.0.3-x86_64-dvd1.iso (1,255MB).

Fred Emmott has announced the release of Slamd64 Linux 12.1, an unofficial port of Slackware Linux to the x86_64 architecture: "Slamd64 12.1 is released, containing major new features such as GCC 4.2.3, SCIM, and greatly improved CJK support. Additionally, installation from FTP and HTTP sources is now supported. This release is mostly an incremental improvement over 12.0, including: Linux 2.6.24.5, X11 7.3.0+, glibc 2.7, Apache 2.2.8 with SSL support and PHP 5.2.5, KDE 3.5.9, Xfce 4.4.2, Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird 2.0.0.14, Java (JRE and JDK) 6u6. Like previous releases of Slamd64, 12.1 provides seamless FHS-compliant 32-bit compatibility, via a multilib system (/lib for 32-bit libraries and /lib64 for 64-bit libraries). This provides easier and increased support for both existing 32-bit software (in most cases, you can just install a package designed for Slackware with no special work needed)." Read the release announcement and release notes for more information. Download: slamd64-12.1-dvd.iso (4,169MB, MD5).

The first release candidate of Granular Linux, a PCLinuxOS-based desktop distribution, is out and ready for testing: "It is my pleasure to announce the availability of Granular 1.0 RC, the last development release before the final Granular 1.0. Features and changes: Granular 1.0 now uses its own new repository; all updated packages, including Linux kernel 2.6.24.7, KDE 3.5.9, Enlightenment 0.16.999, Firefox 3.0, Thunderbird 2.0.0.14, KOffice 1.6.3, Compiz Fusion 0.7.6, GIMP 2.4.6; updated artwork; out-of-the-box support for audio and video files; pre-installed multimedia plugins for Firefox; support for multimedia keyboards and the extra laptop keys; read/write support for NTFS partitions; video drivers installation tool." Read the release announcement and release notes for more detailed list of changes and new features. Download: granular-1.0-rc-cd.iso (694MB, MD5, torrent).

SystemRescueCd, a small Gentoo-based live CD designed for hard disk partitioning and data rescue tasks, has been updated to version 1.0.4. What's new? "Updated the default kernel to Linux 2.6.25.7 with Reiser4fs; fixed problem with Samba due to bad case in the UTF8 character set; fixed the LVM package - LVM 1.x support was broken; fixed the LVM service - now it starts after mdadm so that LVM on raid works; updated NTFS-3G to 1.2531 (NTFS full read-write support); updated the Btrfs file system support to 0.15 (kernel module and utilities); ability to boot Linux from an LVM disk; added option 'root=auto' to boot the first Linux system found on the hard drive; added 'mhdd' boot floppy disk image (low-level hard-disk diagnostic tool)." Here is the complete changelog. Download (MD5) from here: systemrescuecd-x86-1.0.4.iso (197MB).

Ryan Finnie has announced the release of Finnix 92.0, a Debian-based live CD designed for system administrators: "Finnix 92.0 released. Finnix is a small, self-contained, bootable Linux CD distribution for system administrators, based on Debian 'testing'. Today marks the release of version 92.0 for the x86/AMD64, PowerPC, and UML/Xen platforms. Major new features: Finnix 92.0 contains the fix to the Debian OpenSSL predictable RNG vulnerability - a reminder that all versions of Finnix from 89.0 to 91.1 (inclusive) contained this vulnerability, so please keep this in mind when running OpenSSH servers on vulnerable versions; Linux 2.6.25; a new graphical boot menu - this boot menu will still perform 32-bit/64-bit auto-detection, and options such as 'toram' and 'testcd' can still be added to boot profiles by pressing [TAB] over a desired boot profile." Read the release announcement and release notes for a more detailed list of changes and new features. Download (MD5): finnix-92.0.iso (109MB), finnix-ppc-92.0.iso (120MB).

Network Security Toolkit NST is a Fedora-based live CD designed to provide easy access to open source network security applications. A new release, version 1.8.0, was announced yesterday: "We are pleased to announce the latest NST release: v1.8.0. This release is based on Fedora 8 using the Linux kernel 2.6.25.6. Here are some of the highlights of this release: transitioned from Fedora Core 5 to Fedora 8 as the underlying base of the NST; addition of wireless firmware packages to support several new wireless chipsets; most networking and security applications included have been updated to their latest version. The NST Web User Interface (WUI), has been greatly enhanced and cleaned up. Some note worthy enhancements include: Multi-Tap Network Packet Capture and Management; an enhanced Network Packet Capture Management and Status Interface; the use of AJAX and JSON to provide a more dynamic and interactive NST WUI; support for WPA-PSK wireless connections...." Read the release announcement and visit the project's home page for further details. Download: nst-1.8.0.iso.gz (423MB).

Alan Baghumian has announced the release of Parsix GNU/Linux 1.5r0, a Debian-based desktop distribution and live CD: "After a 2-week delay, we proudly announce the immediate availability of Parsix GNU/Linux 1.5r0, code name 'Viola'. Parsix Viola brings several new features and it includes a new kernel, updated software packages, updated documentation, improved installer system, and several fixes for reported defects. This version is synchronized with Parsix and Debian testing repositories as of June 25, 2008. Several bugs have been solved. Replaced GQView with gThumb, Camorama with Cheese, and re-added iptraf and nmap. Parsix Viola officially supports Compiz Fusion, VirtualBox-OSE, and GNU Flash Player. Highlights: GNOME 2.22.2, X.Org 7.3, Linux kernel 2.6.24.4, OpenOffice.org 2.4.0 and GNU Iceweasel 3.0 RC2." Read the release announcement and release notes for more information. Download: parsix_1.5r0-i386.iso (681MB, MD5), parsix_1.5r0-amd64.iso (693MB, MD5).

Steve Langasek has announced the availability of the delayed first alpha release of Ubuntu 8.10, code name "Intrepid Ibex": "Welcome to Intrepid Ibex Alpha 1, which will in time become Ubuntu 8.10. Alpha 1 is the first in a series of milestone CD images that will be released throughout the Intrepid development cycle. The primary changes from Hardy have been the re-merging of changes from Debian and the upgrade of the Linux kernel to a pre-release version of 2.6.26. As with the beginning of any development cycle, the Intrepid one has seen the merge floodgates open once again. This merge not only brings in lots of new version of various packages, but also a fair number of totally new applications." Read the release announcement and release notes for further details. Only the "alternate" installation images have been made available with this release; download them from here: intrepid-alternate-i386.iso (698MB, MD5, torrent), intrepid-alternate-amd64.iso (697MB, MD5, torrent). Also released: Kubuntu8.10 Alpha 1 and Xubuntu8.10 Alpha 1.

Connie Sieh and Troy Dawson have announced the release of Scientific Linux 5.2, a distribution based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.2, but enhanced with extra software and features: "Scientific Linux 5.2 has been released in record time. XFS, the file system, is now officially in Scientific Linux 5.2. XFS is not available during the installation as an option for formatting partitions, but you can install it so that pre-formatted partitions will be recognized. KDEEDU has also been added in Scientific Linux 5.2. This was added mainly because KStars is part of this package, but the other educational programs are also helpful to schools. Alpine has officially replaced Pine in Scientific Linux 5.2. Scientific Linux release 5.2 is based on the rebuilding of RPMs out of SRPMs from Enterprise 5 Server and Client, including update 2. It also has all errata and bug fixes up until June 26, 2008." Read the release announcement and release notes for more information. Download: SL-52-062608-i386-DVD.iso (4,098MB, SHA1).

The Pardus development team has announced the release of Pardus Linux 2008, an independently developed desktop distribution with custom package management and system configuration tools: "New version of the Pardus project, Pardus Linux 2008, improved by the latest technologies and up-to-date applications, has been released. As always, Pardus 2008, is being freely distributed under the terms of GNU General Public License. In compliance with the main goals of the Pardus project, Pardus 2008 has lots of new features for ease of installation and use, both at the infrastructure and interface levels. In addition, Pardus 2008 provides enhanced hardware support, stable and reliable Linux infrastructure and numerous applications on a single CD." Visit the distribution's home page to read the release announcement and check out the release notes for information about new features. Download (MD5) the installation CD images from here: Pardus_2008-Kurulan.iso (695MB, torrent).

Jeremiah Cheatham has announced the final release of Myah OS 2.7 "Dragon" edition, a complete desktop distribution featuring the KDE 3.5 desktop: "For all current fans of Myah OS and all those soon to be, we give you Myah OS 3.0 Dragon. Dragon is the code name for Myah OS built around the KDE 3 desktop. We chose KDE 3.5.9 since it's still considered the most stable and best supported version of KDE. As with all other versions of Myah OS, Dragon has full multimedia support and a wide range or software. There is a complete KDE desktop as well as KOffice, KTorrent, Amarok and many more KDE software packages. Dragon brings the best of KDE and the best of Myah OS together in the same system. There have been several updates since the release of Box. The backup LXDE desktop now uses Metacity instead of Openbox as the window manager. Firefox has been updated to 3.0." Read the rest of the release announcement for further information. Download (MD5): Myah-OS-3.0-Dragon.iso (695MB).

Flavio Pereira de Oliveira has announced the final release of GoblinX 2.7 "Mini" edition, a minimalist desktop live CD based on Slackware Linux: "GoblinX Mini 2.7 is released. After more than four months of development we are pleased to announce the availability of the new stable version. The GoblinX Mini edition is the son of GoblinX and contains only Xfce as windows manager and GTK+ applications. Main upgrades since RC2: added bookmarks to Xfce panel; corrected some small errors and bugs; upgraded some packages, interfaces and scripts; added xf86-video-openchrome, libmpd, cdstatus and Xfmpc; added some missing applications to Xfce menu; added extra folders to be used as package repository; added media package repository to Slapt-getrc; added package upgrade check to Xfce panel with Xfce4-smartpm-plugin; added interface to build module with Slapt-get help; added more Thunar and Nautilus actions; added Totem as audio CD player option." Visit the GoblinX news page to read the full release announcement. Download (MD5): GoblinX.Mini-2.7.iso (150MB).

Stefan Lippers-Hollmann has announced the release of sidux 2008-02, a desktop Linux distribution based on Debian's unstable branch: "A little later than planned due to a number of library transitions in Debian sid, we now have the pleasure to announce the immediate availability of sidux 2008-02 'Erebos', shipping in 'kde-lite' flavours for amd64 and i386, a combined i386+amd64 release with KDE for 'kde-full' and an xdelta to add initial localisations for all currently supported languages. Enhancing the sidux family, an Xfce variant has been added for amd64 and i386 architectures for the first time. 'Erebos' concentrates on integrating the changes caused by kernel 2.6.25.9, the addition of Xfce as a supported distribution variant, as well as several installer improvements and updating the packages affected by the OpenSSL security problems in Debian." Read the detailed release notes for further information. Download: sidux-2008-02-kde-i386-amd64.iso (1,502MB, MD5), sidux-2008-02-xfce-i386.iso (409MB, MD5), sidux-2008-02-xfce-amd64.iso (417MB, MD5).

Karanbir Singh has announced the release of CentOS 5.2, a desktop a server distribution built by recompiling the source RPM packages for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.2: "We are pleased to announce the immediate availability of CentOS 5.2 for the i386 and x86_64 architectures. CentOS 5.2 is based on the upstream release 5.2 and includes packages from all variants, including Server and Client. All upstream repositories have been combined into one, to make it easier for end users to work with. And the option to further enable external repositories at install time is now available in the installer. Further arch support for PowerPC, IA64 and SPARC are planned and will be released soon." Read the release announcement and release notes for more a detailed description of changes and new features. The CD and DVD images are available for download from the project's mirrors: CentOS-5.2-i386-bin-DVD.iso (3,834MB, MD5, torrent), CentOS-5.2-x86_64-bin-DVD.iso (4,388MB, MD5, torrent).

After a brief beta test, MoLinux 4.0, an Ubuntu-based distribution developed by the regional government of Castilla la Mancha in Spain, has been released. MoLinux 4.0 comes with the following new features and changes: updated artwork; new versions of most included applications; live CD that allows users to evaluate the operating system without installation; AppArmor security framework; Cheese - an application for taking photos and videos with a webcam; updated user manual with a system of "recipes" that allow the user to learn common computing tasks fast; new backup manager that makes it simple to perform unattended backups over the local network. Read the complete release announcement (in Spanish) for further information. Download: Molinux_4.0_Adarga.iso (694MB, MD5).

Peter Thomsen has announced the availability of an updated version of eAR OS, an Ubuntu-based, multimedia-oriented distribution: "The new eAR OS version 1.10b has been updated to use the new Firefox 3 browser with the Medialayer Connectivity plugin to watch movies on the Internet. This version is faster because now the graphical rendering of the eAR Media Center is hardware accelerated, it comes with a brand new theme for better look, you can select a username and password of your own choice, and it comes with many other improvements. All packages are the very newest and it comes with the latest Real-Time Linux kernel. The installation is easier too: if you want it to be up and running after installation to the hard disk with a minimum of tweaking, then enter 'earmusic' to be the username and select a password of your own choice." Visit the project's news page to read the full release announcement. Download the live CD via BitTorrent: earos_v1_10b.iso (657MB, MD5).

Flavio Pereira de Oliveira has announced the availability of the first release candidate for GoblinX 2.7, a Slackware-based desktop distribution and live CD. From the changelog: "Added initrd.img to be used by suspend and hibernate after install; added isolinux option to not load customization during boot; moved z.User and i18n internationalization modules to /optional directory; corrected some small errors and bugs; changed hibernate to use swap file or swap partition; added new settings for LILO after install; upgraded some packages, interfaces and scripts; added Slik (Slax Webmount Protocol); added script to check free space on USB pen drives; added better functions to save and restore changes; added GoblinX Installer help; added Userspace Software Suspend, Pm-utils, vbetool, RutilT, lm-sensors; edited some KDE customizations, WindowMaker menu and other desktop features." Visit the project's news page to read the full announcement. Download: GoblinX-2.7.rc1.iso (296MB, MD5).

Ekin Meroğlu has announced the availability of the second release candidate for Pardus Linux 2008: "We're happy to announce Pardus Linux 2008 RC2, hopefully the last release candidate for upcoming Pardus 2008. This release includes a whole bunch of bug fixes and enhancements, as well as new features of Pardus' own tools and underlying technologies. Many package updates are available too: some are in the install CD and some are in the repositories, just a few clicks away. We would like to remind you that this is not a final version, and should not be installed on production machines. We did our best to fix all bugs, however should you find one, do not hesitate to enter a report in our bug reporting system. Also, we would be happy to hear about your experiences in our pardus-users email list." Here is the brief release announcement. Download: Pardus_2008_RC2.iso (697MB, MD5).

Pierrick Le Brun has announced the release of Zenwalk Live 5.2, a live CD edition of the Slackware-based Zenwalk Linux: "Zenwalk Live 5.2, the latest Zenwalk in its live CD format is ready! Based on Zenwalk Current and a slightly modified version 6.2.3 of the Linux-Live scripts, Zenwalk Live is meant to be an almost perfect clone of Zenwalk standard, although it now uses a slightly modified kernel in order to unlock specific live CD features, such as the re-mastering of Zenwalk Live on a USB key with persistent changes. As always, Zenwalk live features several specific live CD GUI tools which you will find in Zenpanel. Essential recovery and system tools, such as LiloFix, GParted and TestDisk have not been forgotten. Zenwalk Live 5.2 includes all the latest improvements from Zenwalk 5.2 recent release." Visit the distribution's user forums to read the full release announcement. Download: zenwalk-live-5.2.iso (527MB, MD5).

Leandro Santos has announced the release of Kurumin NG 8.06, a Brazilian desktop distribution based on Kubuntu 8.04, but enhanced with features developed earlier by the Kurumin and Kalango projects. Version 8.06 is the project's first stable release. Some of the changes since the earlier beta release include: upgrade of the system to the latest Kubuntu "Hardy Heron" code; Magic icons improvements; addition of a shortcut to KFind (a files and folders search tool); minor changes in the configuration of APT sources; addition of a My Computer shortcut to the desktop; several new magic icons for Blender, Picasa, Flash plugin, Skype, Songbird, etc; various cosmetic changes to the desktop and GRUB boot theme; new applications - Audacity, Thunderbird, KDE Games, XGalaga, Ltris, Jockey-KDE, GParted and additional media codecs for K3B; removal of Kontact and its dependencies. Read the full release announcement (in Portuguese) for further information. Download: kurumin-ng_8.06.iso (657MB, MD5, torrent).

Technology Alignment has announced the release of Pioneer Linux 3.2, a desktop distribution based on the recently released Ubuntu 8.04: "Technology Alignment sponsored and community open source projects, today announced the availability of Pioneer Explorer and Basic 3.2, the latest version of its open source Linux operating system distributions. Pioneer operating systems continues to build upon its 7-year life cycle with the Release 3 series. Highlights of the KDE-based distribution include improvements and enhancements on the Programs Folder to allow difficult to find and install items such as codecs while the latest release of Pioneer Linux sports a 2.6.24 kernel, Firefox 3 beta 5 and OpenOffice.org version 2.4.0. Read the rest of the press release for more details. Download: Basic-3.2.0.iso (657MB, MD5).

Robert Lange has announced the release of VectorLinux 5.9 SOHO edition: "We have released VectorLinux 5.9 SOHO. It has been a year since our last SOHO release and from all reports this is our best yet. Starting from the ground up with our 5.9 standard release, we have taken VectorLinux to a new high. This is absolutely the fastest KDE 3.5.9 desktop you will find anywhere with a optional Fluxbox desktop for power users. The eye candy is amazing, with four special themes to select from at installation time. We have fixed most of the oddities and bugs found in the standard release and have made many improvements to our in-house utilities. Everything is updated and patched so no need to worry about homeland security. The amount of software available on this 2-disc set will simply amaze." See the release announcement and product page for further information. VectorLinux 5.9 SOHO is not available for free download, but the official CD set can be purchased from the project's online store for US$24.99.

Stanislav Hoferek has announced the release of Greenie Linux 3.0.2, an enhanced, Ubuntu-based distribution designed primarily for Slovak and Czech-speaking users. Some of the most important changes since Greenie Linux 2.x series include: based on Ubuntu 8.04; new versions of included applications; improved Bash aliases for easier execution of certain commands; addition of VLC as the default movie player; addition of gThumb as the default photo viewer; reduction of the distribution size to fit on one CD; removal of Frets on Fire, Wesnoth and MPlayer; inclusion of a third desktop environment - in addition to GNOME and Openbox, LXDE is now also available; various minor improvements and bug fixes. Visit the distribution's home page (in Slovak) to read the full release announcement. Download: gl3.0.2hgerfi.iso (701MB, MD5). The distribution supports Czech, English, Esperanto and Slovak languages.

The linuX-gamers live DVD is a live "boot-and-play" distribution offering instant access to a variety of games, including Blobby2, BzFLag, Foobillard, gl-117, Glest, Neverball, Nexuiz, Sauerbraten, Torcs, Tremulous, Ufo:AI, Wesnoth, Warsow, Warzone 2100 and World of Padman. An updated version of the live DVD was released yesterday: "linuX-gamers.net Live 0.9.3 released. Recently our chief developers released a new version of linuX-gamers.net live-DVD. This version was used on the LinuxTag exhibition in Berlin. Changes: base and mastering environment rebuilt to support custom mastering; easy network configuration GUI; support for chipsets of recent boards; easy display setup GUI; video settings saved to USB sticks." Here is the brief release announcement. The bootable DVD is available for free download via BitTorrent: lg-live-0.9.3.iso (4,341MB, MD5).

Jeremiah Cheatham has announced the release of Myah OS 3.0 Box edition, a full-featured desktop Linux distribution built around the Lightweight X11 Desktop Environment (LXDE): "Myah OS 3.0 Box is now available. This is a complete Linux solution built around the Lightweight X11 Desktop Environment. The LXDE desktop is designed to be the smallest, fastest and yet fully functional desktop for UNIX/Linux systems. It's important to note that Box is not meant to be a light system. Instead it's meant to be a fully functional system built around a light desktop. There are many extremely light Linux systems out there already like Damn Small Linux and Slax. Myah OS 3.0 Box is for people who want a full blown system built around a light desktop. Box comes with much of the same software that was found in Mouse Pro." Read the rest of the release announcement for further information. Download (MD5): Myah-OS-3.0-Box.iso (549MB).

Marco Ghirlanda has announced the release of ArtistX 0.5, a Debian-based live DVD with a large collection of free audio, video and graphics software: "ArtistX is a free live GNU/Linux DVD which turns a common computer into a full multimedia production studio. It is based on Debian GNU/Linux and contains nearly all available free audio, 2D and 3D graphics, and video software for the GNU/Linux computing platform. ArtistX 0.5 is based on Debian Live software for creating live CDs and includes the 2.6.25 kernel, KDE 3.5, Compiz 0.7.7 and about 2,500 free multimedia software. Main features: based on Debian Sid; Debian multimedia packages; KDE menu customization (a first try)." Visit the distribution's home page to read the release announcement. The ArtistX 0.5 live DVD is available for free download via BitTorrent: artistx_0.5_kde_live_dvd_iso_06_05_2008.iso (2,602MB).

MoLinux is an Ubuntu-based desktop distribution developed by the regional government of Castilla la Mancha in Spain. The first beta release of the upcoming MoLinux 4.0, now based on Ubuntu 8.04 "Hardy Heron", is available for download and testing. For this release, the developers have added a number of new applications, such as Cheese (a program for taking photos and videos with a webcam), Preload (a utility that accelerates the start-up of frequently used applications), Vinagre (a VNC client), SBackup and others. There is also an improved way of setting up graphic modes, while all of the previously included software packages have been updated to newer versions. This beta is considered feature complete. Please visit the distribution's home page (in Spanish) to read the full release announcement. Download: Molinux_4.0_Adarga_Beta.iso (697MB, MD5).

Turbolinux has announced the release of Turbolinux 12 Client edition (marketing name: Turbolinux 2008 Client), a desktop Linux distribution targeted at Japanese-speaking users. This is the first time a Turbolinux release comes in the form of an installable live CD, with the major components being Linux kernel 2.6.24.4 (co-developed with Mandriva at Mambo Labs), KDE 3.5.9 as the default desktop, X.Org 1.4.0.90, glibc 2.7 and Tomoyo Linux as the distribution's security framework. The live CD includes freely distributable software only, but the commercial edition, scheduled for release in September 2008, will include a so-called Net User Package, a collection of value-added applications, such as the ATOK Japanese input method editor, popular media codecs, extra TrueType fonts and the StarSuite office suite. Please read the detailed press release (in Japanese) for further information. The 691 MB Turbolinux 12 beta live CD is available for free download from the distribution's product page, after filling in a simple registration form. The language support on the live CD and in the Anaconda system installer is limited to Japanese only.

Eddy Nigg has announced the release of StartCom Enterprise Linux 5.0.2, an updated version of the distribution built from the source code for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.2: "StartCom is pleased to announce the availability of StartCom Enterprise Linux AS 5.0.2. This update release provides various enhancements for virtualization, encryption, cluster storage, but also desktop improvements. The Xen hypervisor makes the running of multiple virtualized server instances with its performance improvements and live-migration support for fully virtualized guests more efficient and reliable. Added kernel features include new asynchronous kernel crypto hardware driver APIs which were backported from the upstream kernel. Also new is the OpenSwan package which supports IKE 2 for IPv6. StartCom Enterprise Linux AS-5.0.2 is available for Intel i386 and AMD x86_64 architectures." Read the full press release for more details. Download (MD5): Kishuf-i386-u2-DVD.iso (3,740MB), Kishuf-x86_64-u2-DVD.iso (4,200MB).

Erast Benson has announced the release of NexentaCore Platform 1.0.1, a base operating system combining the OpenSolaris kernel with Debian utilities and Ubuntu software packages: "This is to announce availability of NexentaCore 1.0.1 - Debian Native OpenSolaris environment and platform. Release highlights: based on OpenSolaris b85+ (x86 32-bit and 64-bit, non-debug), with critical patches from b87, b88 and b90; ZFS write-throttle fixes; now ZFS-root is the only default method for installation; significantly improved speed of boot_archive creation - up to 5 times faster; support for new SAS/SATA controllers: Areca, LSI Mega, IBM ServeRAID; many small improvements and bug fixes for APT repository. Related news: NexentaCore 2.x 'Hardy' is under active development right now." Here is the full release announcement. Download (MD5): nexenta-core-platform_1.0.1-b85_x86.iso.zip (331MB).

MilaX, formerly known as Damn Small Solaris, is a desktop and server mini-distribution based on OpenSolaris. Its creator, Alexander R. Eremin, released the latest version yesterday: "MilaX 0.3.1 released. Changes: Based on OpenSolaris Nevada 89; for systems with more than 512 MB of RAM the live image is mounted from the memory and it's possible eject the MilaX CD after booting; added IceWM, removed JWM; added Conky, removed Torsmo; added XChat, Xpad, IFTop, CDPR; restored Dillo; added screen resolution and X keyboard layout scripts; two editions: desktop and server (non-GUI), the server version includes Apache, PHP, Samba and NFS servers, GCC, GMake, Midnight Commander, Pine, Mutt, Elinks, Lynx and other utilities." Here is the short release announcement. Download (MD5) the desktop and server CD images from here: milax031.iso (127MB), milax031s.iso (160MB).

Matteo Garofano has announced the release of Voltalinux 2.1, a server-oriented distribution based on Slackware Linux and using NetBSD's pkgsrc package management system: "As expected, after the release of Slackware Linux 12.1, Voltalinux 2.1 (code name 'Livorno') is out. It benefits from the many new features in Slackware: HTTP and FTP install, new kernel, installation on LVM and RAID, etc. Also includes the benefits of the new features found in the NetBSD's pkgsrc port system, such as upgraded packages and a better management system. As usual, Voltalinux comes with more then 150 packages (compiled with the pkgsrc port system) intended for server use, including Postfix, Exim, Dovecot, ClamAV, Pure-FTPd, Bftpd, Squid, MySQL, PostgreSQL, Bind, MaraDNS, etc." Here is the brief release announcement. Download: voltalinux-install.iso (310MB, MD5).

A new development version of Elive, a Debian-based distribution featuring the Enlightenment 17 window manager, has been released: "The Elive team is proud to announce the release of development version 1.7.7. This release includes: Bluetooth - if a Bluetooth device is detected on your computer during the boot process, you will 'automagically' have a Bluetooth applet in your tray; notifications on the desktop - messages about miscellaneous events, e.g. Bluetooth PIN codes; X.Org - touchpad is re-enabled again, configurator of the graphical mode scans hard disk for possible configurations to use; ATI - some bugs were found with the fglrx driver in Elive, it should work now, but we still need your reports if something does not work correctly." Here is the complete release announcement. Download: elive_1.7.7_unstable.iso (699MB, MD5).

Daniel James has announced the release of 64 Studio 2.1, an updated version of the Debian-based distribution designed for musicians and digital artists: "64 Studio 2.1 'A Minha Menina' released! 64 Studio is a GNU/Linux distribution tailor-made for digital content creation, including audio, video, graphics and publishing tools. Version 2.1 is the first update to the second stable release of 64 Studio. It is named after a song by Jorge Ben, recorded by Os Mutantes and covered by The Bees. New versions of applications such as Ardour and Rosegarden are the main reason to upgrade, plus general bug fixes and updates from Etch. It's not meant to be a bleeding edge release; it only contains necessary changes. It's a recommended upgrade for all 64 Studio users, without fear of system breakage." Read the press release for information about upgrading from a previous release and other information. Download: 64studio_2.1_i386.iso (798MB, MD5), 64studio_2.1_amd64.iso (817MB, MD5).

Ekin Meroğlu has announced the availability of the first release candidate for Pardus Linux 2008, an independent desktop Linux distribution with custom package management and system administration tools: "We are happy to announce Pardus Linux 2008 RC1, the first release candidate for upcoming Pardus Linux 2008. This release includes most of the enhancements planned for the final release. Some of the highlights of this release are: updated Pardus-specific tools, specially the new Display Manager tool; a new Kernel (2.6.25.5) and GCC (4.3.1); many bug fixes and updated packages. We would like to remind you that this is not a final version, and should not be installed on production machines." Here is the brief release announcement. Download the installation CD image from here: Pardus_2008_RC1.iso (697MB, SHA1).

Many readers have asked us to publish release announcements of the Debian installers for Debian GNU/Linux 5.0 "Lenny", especially since these releases come as full sets of installation CD and DVD images. So here you go: the second Debian Installer beta for "Lenny" is out: "The Debian Installer team is proud to announce the second beta release of the installer for Debian GNU/Linux Lenny. Improvements in this release of the installer: the installer uses and installs the 2.6.24 kernel; support for the armel (Arm Little Endian) architecture, using the new 'Embedded ABI'; installer images for i386 and amd64 have a new boot menu; the graphical installer now has full support for encrypted partitioning...." Read the complete release announcement for further information. Debian "Lenny" installation images are available for download from the Debian-Installer home page; here are a few quick links to the first of the installation DVD images: debian-LennyBeta2-i386-DVD-1.iso (4,447MB, MD5, torrent), debian-LennyBeta2-amd64-DVD-1.iso (4,472MB, MD5, torrent).

Alan Baghumian has announced the availability of the third test release of Parsix GNU/Linux 1.5, a desktop distribution based on Debian's testing branch: "The third testing version of the brand new release of Parsix GNU/Linux 1.5 (codename 'Viola') is available now. This version is synchronized with Parsix and Debian testing repositories as of June 7, 2008. Several bugs have been solved. Replaced GQview with gThumb image viewer, replaced Camorama with Cheese and re-added Bug-buddy, GDB and IPTraf. Parsix Viola officially supports Compiz Fusion, VirtualBox OSE and GNU Flash player. Highlights: GNOME 2.22.2, X.Org 7.3, Linux kernel 2.6.24.4 with CK patch and CVE-2008-1669 fix, TuxOnIce 3.0-RC7, iwlwifi 1.2.23 with LED support and PowerTOP patches, updated several kernel drivers, OpenOffice.org 2.4.0 and GNU Iceweasel 3.0 Beta 5." The release announcement, release notes. Download: parsix_1.5r0-test-3-i386.iso (679MB, MD5), parsix_1.5r0-test-3-amd64.iso (691MB, MD5).

Clement Lefebvre has announced the release of Linux Mint 5.0, an enhanced and user-friendly desktop Linux distribution based on Ubuntu 8.04: "It is with great pleasure that I officially announce the release of Linux Mint 5 Elyssa." Among the many new characteristics of this release the most notable are: miscellaneous improvements to mintMenu, mintUpdate and mintInstall; various feature enhancements on the GNOME desktop; performance improvements through reduced memory usage; improved usability compliant with the GNOME Human Interface Guidelines; more available software and better localisation; changes in default software selection (Transmission, Rhythmbox, Brasero...); upstream improvements, including the PulseAudio sound server and a new command-line firewall configuration tool. Read the brief release announcement and check out the comprehensive release notes for further information. Download: LinuxMint-5-r1.iso (691MB, MD5). Besides the standard edition, Linux Mint 5 "Light", containing no proprietary software and restricted file formats, is also available.

Jean-Philippe Guillemin has announced the release of Zenwalk Linux 5.2: "The long awaited Zenwalk Linux 5.2 is now available. What's new? The new release includes nearly 500 changes to software packages including a number of updates, bug fixes and enhanced replacements for some software. Notable updates include the Linux kernel version 2.6.25.4 and the Xfce desktop 4.4.2. An improved package manager; Netpkg 'new generation' is now at version 4, introducing many improvements: better layout, tree-like view of packages, many help pop-ups, ultra-intuitive user interface, automatic colorization of icons; full internationalization of the user interface; real-time recursive dependency computing, and full-text search. Improved multimedia support; refined system power usage; the beautiful and well-polished Xfce desktop refreshed with new artwork...." Read the complete release announcement for more information. Download: zenwalk-5.2.iso (505MB, MD5).

Ekin Meroğlu has announced the availability of the first beta release of Pardus Linux 2008: "We're happy to announce Pardus 2008 beta 1, the first beta for upcoming Pardus 2008. This beta includes most of the enhancements planned for the final release. Some of the highlights of this beta are: Pardus-specific tools and technologies - the new dbus-based COMAR, the fastest-ever PiSi, the new YAlI, the new Display-Manager tool and enhanced Kaptan; seamless desktop integration - full PolicyKit, ConsoleKit, dbus/Comar integration, PulseAudio, automatic printer recognition; new visual design - from bootsplash to icon theme, all Pardus visuals have been redesigned; up-to-date packages and repositories; components - GCC 4.3.1 RC, glibc 2.8, kernel 2.6.24.7, OpenOffice.org 2.4.1.3, Firefox 3.0 RC1." Read the rest of the release announcement for further details and known issues. Download the installation CD image from here: Pardus-2008_Beta1.iso (697MB, SHA1).

Peter Thomsen has announced the release of eAR OS 1.09, an Ubuntu-based Linux distribution designed for the multimedia enthusiast: "After a small delay, a new eAR OS, version 1.09b, can be downloaded. The most important features of this release: navigate the eAR Media Center with a mouse, a touch pad or a touch screen; Windows Media Center remote controls (new version with a Philips ID) now work out-of-the-box; update of the 2.6.24 Real-Time Linux kernel and update of almost all applications to the very newest stable releases, the excellent Exaile audio player with iPod support has been added too; new features in the MORE menu; Firefox with support for QuickTime content and DivX movie playback; firewall to prevent incoming traffic." Visit the project's news page to read the release announcement. Download via BitTorrent: earos_v1_09b.iso (661MB, MD5).

The first development build of sidux 2008-02 has been released: "A little later than planned, sidux 2008-02 'Erebos' is now ready to enter the preview season for amd64 and i686 systems. As usual the previews are shipping only as a small, but fully functional, KDE-lite flavours, to ease up testing and xdelta uploads and will be accompanied by the combined KDE-full variant for the final release. This first preview concentrates on integrating the changes caused by kernel 2.6.25.4, as well as several installer improvements and updating the packages affected by the OpenSSL security problems in Debian. Furthermore a large number of individual functionality enhancements and bug fixes have been applied to the full package line up and especially sidux' own packages." Read the detailed release announcement for further information. Download: sidux-2008-02-i386.iso (448MB, MD5), sidux-2008-02-amd64.iso (456MB, MD5).

Paul Sherman has announced the release of Absolute Linux 12.1.01, the first minor update to the light-weight, Slackware-based desktop distribution. From the changelog: "wicd updated (version 1.4.2), includes changes to daemon.py and networking.py to accommodate Slackware's networking scripts without altering them; 5ball gets a new high-contrast theme (requested by a visually-impaired user); absServices.py updated (utility to set start-up daemons); changed from wxGTK to pyGTK + code clean-up; flv2avi re-introduced, added desktop file and dialog if ffmpeg is not installed; K3B updated to 1.0.5, includes plugin support for ffmpeg use; multimedia installer updated; fixed ffmpeg not installing properly; couple of performance tweaks." Here is the release announcement with a full changelog. Download (MD5): absolute_12.1.01.zip (668MB).

Resulinux is a Brazilian desktop distribution based on Debian GNU/Linux. A new version 2.9, code name "Chesed", was released yesterday. From the changelog: added option to choose one of the four available desktop themes; KDE 3.5.9 with Compiz; new configuration and package installation panels; security improvements; major applications - OpenOffice.org 2.4.0, Firefox 3.0; Linux kernel 2.6.23.13 enhanced for performance; bug fixes in Kaffeine and scripts for installing the ATI and NVIDIA proprietary video drivers; new script for configuring wireless networking and miscellaneous other networking improvements. Please visit the distribution's download page (in Portuguese) to read the complete changelog. Get the live CD image from here: resulinux2.9chesed.iso (696MB, MD5, torrent).

The first development build of OpenGEU 8.04, a desktop distribution combining the latest Ubuntu with the Enlightenment window manager, is out and ready for testing: "This is the official OpenGEU 8.04 'Luna Crescente' alpha release. In this release there has been a big number of changes on the software side, a lot of new tools and E17 modules, many of which have been developed by our team. Since OpenGEU Luna Nuova, a lot has changed - there's no extra panel in OpenGEU, no fbpanel and no GNOME panel. The user will be able to find any GNOME tools needed in the very convenient OpenGEU menu entry of the E17 menu. The system tray can be found on the lower right corner of the screen thanks to trayer. The alpha version is already fully working." Here is the brief release announcement. Download the installable live CD image via BitTorrent: opengeu-8.04-desktop-i386-alpha.iso (615MB, MD5).

Jeremiah Cheatham has announced the release of Myah OS 3.0, a complete desktop Linux distribution with Xfce and a variety of administration tools: "The long-awaited Myah OS 3.0 is here. 3.0 has been in development since 2006 right after the release of version 2.3. This release is a complete Linux solution for personal computers. It is created to do just about anything right out of the box without any hassle. There is full support for watching and editing videos. If you like music you can tune into online stations or even record your own. You can also write you own web pages or even use the IDE to start developing software. Myah OS also comes with a complete set of system tools to help with administration. Adding packages is a simple and easy task. Myah will also let you know when there are updates available." Read the rest of the release announcement for more information. Download (MD5): Myah-OS-3.0-Mouse-Pro.iso (627MB).

The first development release of ClarkConnect 4.3, a Red Hat-based server distribution, is ready for testing: "ClarkConnect Community 4.3 alpha 1 is available. What's new? The OpenVPN and SSL certificate manager should be considered alpha at this point. We may decide to rip out parts of the certificate manager (read: delete all the certificates and start again), and that's the primary reason this is an alpha release. Here are some comments on the new features: remote backup; groupware via webmail; OpenVPN and SSL certificates. In order to implement OpenVPN, security certificates are required. In order to ease some of the pain out of managing certificates, we are in the process of simplifying the user experience. Here are the steps to get OpenVPN running." Continue reading the release notes for further details. Interested testers can download the installation CD image from here: community-4.3-alpha1.iso (509MB, MD5).

Henry Jensen has announced the release of DeLi Linux 0.8.0, a light-weight desktop distribution designed for computers with as little as 32 MB of RAM: "DeLi Linux 0.8.0 is the next big step and the first release of the 0.8.x branch. The main focus of the 0.8.x series will be internationalisation. The biggest changes are: switched to UTF-8 as the default encoding; dropped GTK+ 1.x, switched to GTK+ 2.x (2.10); switched to the 'pacman' package manager (from Arch Linux); Netsurf or Skipstone as web browsers; AbiWord 2.4.6 with ODT plugin and Gnumeric 1.6.3; Linux kernel 2.4.36.4, now with LSI Logic support (important for VMware guests). Unfortunately, the hardware requirements had to be raised: for running the GUI at least 32 MB of RAM are recommended; a MMX capable processor is recommended for multimedia applications; a full installation with all applications requires about 750 MB space on hard disk." Here is the full release announcement. Download the installation CD image from here: deli-0.8.0-full.iso (252MB, MD5, torrent).

Red Hat has announced the availability of the beta release of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 4.7: "Red Hat is pleased to announce the availability of the beta release of 4.7 (kernel 2.6.9-70.EL) for the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 family of products. This beta release includes the following improvements: virtualization enhancements; laptop and desktop enhancements; encryption and security enhancements; tuning and debugging - systemtap; tools enhancement (added JRockit 1.6.0); networking and IPv6 enablement; storage improvements; platform enhancements; kernel improvements; new driver support and driver updates; technology previews for the Frysk system monitor and GCC 4." Read the complete release announcement for a detailed list of all changes and improvements. Existing subscribers who are interested in beta testing this release can download the installation ISO images from Red Hat Networks.

Epidemic GNU/Linux is an easy-to-use, Debian-based desktop distribution created in Brazil. An updated version 2.1 was announced yesterday. With this release, the project's developers focused primarily on bug fixes, stability and speed improvements, and general polish. Some the improvements include: Easy Channel, a graphical utility for installing proprietary applications and non-free media codecs; Enetwork, a network configuration tool; a new version of the Epidemic installer; integration of Compiz Fusion with several 3D plugins; an i686-optimised Linux kernel 2.6.24 with a number of patches for wireless network cards and other hardware devices; improved support for webcams; Aufs file system on live CD; read-write support for NTFS partitions; various artwork and theme updates. Please visit the distribution's home page (in Portuguese) to read the release announcement and to take a look at some screenshots. Download (MD5) the installable live CD from here: epidemic-2.1-14-i686.iso (698MB).

A new development build of Elive, a Debian-based live CD featuring the latest Enlightenment 17 window manager, was released today: "The Elive team is proud to announce the release of the development version 1.7.5. This version includes an updated kernel and some other things. Changelog: updated kernel to version 2.6.24.7; big workaround in the graphical configurations suite for the boot process; added a menu that asks what you want to do after finishing a graphical session; some bug fixes, such as fixing black screen in an NVIDIA model card; added support for a special Intel audio card; fixed a problem with selecting the 3D-accelerated NVIDIA driver found in the previous version; MadWiFi now supports a new Atheros wireless card model (the same one used in EeePC); added boot parameter 'nobluetooth'." Here is the brief release announcement. Download: elive_1.7.5_unstable.iso (691MB, MD5).

SystemRescueCd 1.0.3, a Gentoo-based live CD designed for disk partitioning and data rescue tasks, has been released. From the changelog: "Updated the default kernel to Linux 2.6.25.4 with Reiser4; updated the alternative kernel to Linux 2.6.24.7 with Reiser4; switched from Unionfs to Aufs (another union file system); boot from network via PXE or with docache now works with as little as 256 MB of RAM; updated the btrfs file system support to 0.14 (kernel patch and utilities); updated the graphical environment to xorg-server version 1.4; updated NTFS-3G to 1.2506 (NTFS full read and write support); updated GParted to 0.3.7; improved fonts in the graphical environment (X.Org and Xvesa); added support for 256-byte inode in ext3 file system in GRUB 0.97; added a PDF viewer (ePDFView); fixed shell problem with the serial console." Download (MD5): systemrescuecd-x86-1.0.3.iso (191MB, MD5).

Attila Craciun has announced the availability of the "LiveDVD" edition of Bluewhite64 Linux 12.1, an unofficial port of Slackware Linux to the x86_64 architecture: "I am delighted to announce the availability of Bluewhite64 Linux 12.1 'LiveDVD' and Bluewhite64 Linux 12.1 'LiveUSB'. The new Bluewhite64 Linux 12.1 LiveDVD includes the stable SMP Linux kernel 2.6.24.7 with advanced features and performance. The LiveDVD is designed to bring a modern Linux desktop to the AMD64/EM64T architectures; it includes a modularized X.Org 1.4.0.90 (7.3) with Compiz, the award-winning KDE 3.5.9 in 65 languages, OpenOffice.org 2.3, Firefox 2.0.0.14 (Flash-ready) and Konqueror (Flash and Java-ready) web browsers, Thunderbird 2.0.0.12 and KMail 1.9.9 mail clients, Swaret 1.6.3 and Qtswaret 0.1.5 package managers, IA32 emulation to run 32-bit programs, and many more server and desktop programs and tools." Here is the full release announcement. Download (MD5): Bluewhite64-12.1-LiveDVD.iso (1,620MB).

The first stable version of TinyMe, a PCLinuxOS-based mini-distribution designed for older computers, is out: "TinyMe 2008.0 has been released! TinyMe is a PCLinuxOS-based distribution, which is targeted at older computers and people who want a very light and fast desktop environment. Although TinyMe comes as a small, 200 MB ISO image, it provides tools for most everyday wants and needs: AbiWord word processor; Opera web browser; Audacious media player; GThumb photo viewer and digital camera application; Asunder CD ripper; easy-to use Control Centers which make customizing the system and desktop look and feel a snap; Sylpheed e-mail client; ePDFView, a PDF viewer; SciTE text editor. TinyMe's desktop environment consists of Openbox for the window manager, LXPanel for the panel, Nitrogen sets the wallpaper, and iDesk provides the icons." Read the rest of the release announcement for further details. Download: TinyMe-2008.0.i586.iso (200MB, MD5, torrent).

Volker Theile has announced the release of FreeNAS 0.686.4: "FreeNAS 0.686.4 stable was released today. It is a maintenance release so no new features have been included. Changes: Set subnet mask to 24 per default if DHCP is activated, otherwise WebGUI is not accessible in most networks when changing from DHCP to static; do not validate sync time values when pressing 'Now' on status report page; add ability to add multiple destination email addresses on status report page; display interfaces with status 'associated' in UPnP services WebGUI too; add ability to configure multiple host names for Dynamic DNS service; add patch to do a file system check on root if necessary; display correct share name for mounted ISOs on initial system page; fix CPU graph script error...." More in the release announcement. Download: FreeNAS-i386-liveCD-0.686.4.3374.iso (46.6MB, MD5).

Marcos Guglielmetti has announced the release of Musix GNU/Linux 1.0R4, the fourth revision of the Debian-based distribution featuring a large collection of free software for creative artists: "The Musix GNU+Linux 1.0R4 live DVD was produced on the basis of the stable version 1.0R3 CD. Musix 1.0 is based on KNOPPIX and stable Debian but it has the latest versions of many important applications. New and upgraded software on the live DVD: Rakarrack (a great effects processor for guitars), LASH 0.5.4, AZR3 1.0.3 (a high quality Hammond organ emulator, ported from a VSTi), Asma davul drum kit... Many fundamental programs have been updated since Musix 1.0R3: Ardour 2.1 (2.4.1 available as a DEB package), Rosegarden 1.7.0, Jackd 0.109.2, LMMS 0.3.2, QJackCtl 0.3.2, WhySynth 2008-04-12, and more. Dozens of packages were upgraded to the latest Debian Etch versions for security reasons." Read the complete release notes for further details. Download: MusixGNU+Linux1.0R4_DVD_Stable.iso (1,953MB, MD5).

Jean-Philippe Guillemin has announced the first beta release of Zenwalk Linux 5.2: "The long awaited Zenwalk 5.2 is out in beta. It has been four months since the last release and it's time to brush off the packages. What's new? The package manager, netpkg 'new generation' v4, has been completely rewritten in Perl-GTK and several new features have been added, making this already great application even greater. MPlayer is provided with the latest dvdnav (DVD menus support). Powerthend adds CPU scaling daemon and control script. The suspend and resume system has been improved. What's updated? As usual for each release, the desktop has been refreshed with new artwork. Almost all packages have been updated or rebuilt, including the Linux kernel 2.6.25.4 and Xfce 4.4.2. The update also takes care of a number of security fixes." Here is the full release announcement. Download: zenwalk-5.2BETA.iso (507MB, MD5).

Ultimate Edition 1.8, an Ubuntu-based distribution featuring a variety of user-friendly enhancements, has been released: "Ultimate Edition 1.8 is built based on Ubuntu Hardy Heron; unlike the previous builds, which were created by a tool called 'reconstructor', I built this one by hand. I am releasing both a 32-bit and a 64-bit edition. Hotrod is a fitting name for it, if you have a 64-bit processor I highly recommend the 64-bit edition. This release was built from scratch using Ubuntu 'Hardy Heron' LTS with all the goodies you have came to love with previous editions and a few new ones. I would like to point out that the usplash is fully carried through after installation (the dragon)." Read the complete release announcement which includes a number of screenshots. Download: ultimate-edition-1.8-x86.iso (1,340MB, MD5, torrent), ultimate-edition-1.8-x64.iso (1,352MB, MD5, torrent).

Red Hat has announced the release of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 5.2, the second update to its RHEL 5.x product series: "Today we released the second update to Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5. As with earlier minor releases, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.2 comes with a broad set of bug fixes, updated hardware support capabilities, quality improvements, and a set of new software features that have been backported from upstream open source projects to the Enterprise Linux 5 code base. Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.2 enhancements are primarily focused in six areas: virtualization, laptop and desktop improvements, encryption and security, cluster and storage enhancements, networking and IPv6 enablement, serviceability." Read the press release and release notes for more details. Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.2 is available to existing subscribers Red Hat Networks - either as a set of new installation media or via the usual upgrade mechanisms.

Novell has announced the release of SUSE Linux Enterprise 10, Service Pack 2: "Novell today announced the availability of SUSE Linux Enterprise 10 Service Pack 2 (SP2), containing enhancements in virtualization, management, hardware enablement and interoperability. SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 SP2 is the only Xen-based virtualization solution with full support from Microsoft for Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2003 guests and live migration of those guests across physical machines." This release provides security fixes and feature enhancements to SUSE Linux Enterprise 10, originally released in July 2006, but also includes package updates for popular software, such as Firefox (2.0.0.14) and OpenOffice.org (2.4.0). Please read the complete press release for further information. A full set of 60-day evaluation media for all supported architectures are available for download (see desktop, server), after registration.

Paul Sherman has announced the release of Absolute Linux 12.1, a light-weight, Slackware-based distribution featuring the IceWM window manager: "Absolute Linux 12.1 final released. Last tweaks before release involved file-finding utility (ff.py) for which I improved the graphical user interface (colors, font usage). Because I also updated to latest PCMan File Manager (4.1.1), which I believe was a code clean-up, performance improved and I further customized it to include the file finder utility mentioned above in the Tools menu. Absolute Linux CD2, additional software and documentation: recompiled libsndfile and Audacity for CD2; latest libsndfile does not work with latest flac. Also read that Audacity will be worked on in Google Summer of Code for additional sound formats, which would be nice - but I updated Audacity for CD2, anyway." Read the full release announcement for more details. Download: absolute_12.1.zip (672MB).

Michael Creel has announced the release of PelicanHPC 1.5.1 (formerly PrallelKNOPPIX), a Debian-based live CD designed to make it simple to set up a high-performance computing cluster. This updates fixes the recent "predictable randomness" vulnerability in Debian's build of OpenSSL and all users are strongly encouraged to upgrade. From the announcement: "PelicanHPC1.5.1 released. Changes: fixes a major security problem related to SSH keys, all users who connect their cluster to a network are strongly encouraged to update; added fail2ban to discourage brute force SSH attacks; MPITB and other example code for Octave is now pre-compiled; package updates, including Octave 3.0.1 and OpenMPI 1.2.6." Download PelicanHPC 1.5.1 via BitTorrent: pelican32-v1.5.1.iso (359MB), pelican64-v1.5.1.iso (367MB).

Acoustic Reality has announced the release of eAR OS 1.08, an Ubuntu-based, multimedia-oriented distribution featuring an advanced media centre: "eAR OS Free edition 1.08 has been released for free download. New features have been added, for example you may now record your LPs to the hard disk in lossless FLAC format. Also the dockbar has been recompiled to be visible on all workspaces and users with much RAM may enable the 3D desktop effects. eAR OS Free Edition Version 1.08 has build-in recovery of the eAR Media Center It also comes with semi-automatic installation of proprietary hardware drivers; compared to a previous release, the live CD now supports more than 20 extra sound cards that work out-of-the-box. eAR OS 1.08 comes with Linux Real-Time kernel 2.6.24 for audiophile sound quality." Visit the distribution's news page to read the full release announcement. Download via BitTorrent: earos_v1_08c.iso (672MB, MD5).

Robert Shingledecker has announced that the first release candidate for Damn Small Linux 4.4 is out and ready for testing: "Damn Small Linux 4.4RC1 is now available in the Release Candidate section. Changelog: New Lua/Fltk re-factored for enhanced performance; new Fltk library now available for C/C++ programs; update rsync to v3.0.2; restored Firefox default search engines; new low-resource background and theme; new default system font, smoothansi; new .luafltkrc for Lua/Fltk theme and defaults; updated dmix; updated man script, new -o -b options and site; fixed permissions on fusermount; updated all Lua and Lua/FLtk scripts to the new Lua/Fltk system." Here is the release announcement with a brief changelog. Download: dsl-4.4RC1.iso (49.7MB, MD5).

Alan Baghumian has announced the second test release of Parsix GNU/Linux 1.5r0, a desktop distribution and live CD based on Debian's testing branch: "The second testing version of Parsix GNU/Linux 1.5 (code name 'Viola') is available now. Viola test 2 brings several new features, contains a new kernel, updated software packages and several fixes for the reported defects. This version is synchronized with Parsix and Debian testing repositories as of May 17, 2008. Several bugs have been solved. Viola test 2 officially supports Compiz-Fusion, VirtualBox OSE and GNU Flash Player. Highlights: GNOME 2.22.1, X.Org 7.3, Linux kernel 2.6.24.4 with CK, TuxOnIce 3.0-RC7, iwlwifi 1.2.23 with LED support and PowerTOP patch, updated several kernel drivers, OpenOffice.org 2.4.0 and GNU Iceweasel 3.0 Beta 5." The release announcement, release notes. Download: parsix_1.5r0-test-2-i386.iso (681MB, MD5), parsix_1.5r0-test-2-amd64.iso (693MB, MD5).

Michael K. Johnson has announced the release of rPath Linux 2.0, a highly customisable appliance operating system featuring the Conary package management utility: "rPath is pleased to announce that rPath Linux 2 is now available and recommended for general use as an appliance platform. What's new? rPath Linux 2 is the next step in the evolution of the rPath Linux platform. In addition to a technology refresh (new versions of included packages), rPath Linux 2 is better tuned as a platform to show off your work. Just enough OS - rPath Linux 2 is smaller than rPath Linux 1. Boot splash branding - rPath Linux 2 implements a graphical boot process which is easy to customize to look the way you want. Additional security mechanisms: - several additional runtime security measures have been added to most packages. More robust system boot - the syslinux bootloader is now the default bootloader....." Read the complete release announcement for more information. Download (MD5): rpath-2.0-x86-dvd1.iso (837MB), rpath-2.0-x86_64-dvd1.iso (896MB).

MEPIS has announced the release of antiX 7.2, a lightweight, community variant of MEPIS Linux designed for older computers: "MEPIS has announced the release of antiX 7.2, 'VetÃ«vendosje.' Built using the MEPIS Linux 7.0 core including the MEPIS 2.6.22 kernel and utilities, along with selected additions from Debian Lenny, this lightweight operating system is especially appropriate for older hardware and users who like a very fast functional system. Pre-configured window managers Fluxbox and IceWM, as well as Conky and ROX Desktop, come ready to use. The search tool Catfish and the video player gxine have been added. New features based on community contributions include revised customized menus for better usability, a detailed set of FAQs for the new user, original wallpapers, and scripts for easy configuration of user and system files." Read the release announcement and check out the list of installed application for further details. Download: antiX-M7.2.iso (359MB, MD5).

Bernhard Rosenkraenzer has announced the release of Ark Linux 2008.1, an easy-to-use desktop Linux distribution with KDE and a selection of highly up-to-date applications: "The Ark Linux team is pleased to announce the immediate availability of Ark Linux 2008.1, a new version of its easy-to-use, easy-to-learn operating system. Contrary to our original plan for this release, we have decided to make one more release based on KDE 3.x, to provide a stable state-of-art system that fixes all known problems with earlier versions before the big move to KDE 4.x. Major changes from the last release include updates to KDE 3.5.9, kernel 2.6.25.3, glibc 2.8 and wine 1.0-rc1, building everything with GCC 4.3 for improved performance, greatly extended hardware support, and the addition of Gnash, a free player for Flash animations." Here is the brief release announcement. Download (MD5) the live or installation CD image from here: arklinux-2008.1.iso (694MB), arklinux-live-2008.1.iso (601MB).

Litrix Linux is a Gentoo-based desktop Linux live DVD featuring a graphical configuration utility, and a choice between a KDE 3.5 and a GNOME 2.22 desktop. The first release candidate for version 8.5 was released a few days ago: "Litrix Linux 8.5 Release candidate 1. The most important release of the year comes with many changes since the Litrix 7 series. Litrix Linux uses the latest packages from Gentoo's official repository; if you have any difficulties with the system, you can consult the Gentoo documentation as Litrix Linux is 100% compatible with Gentoo. The main features of this release: KDE 3.5.9, Firefox 2.0.0.14, GNOME 2.22.0 as an alternative desktop, win32codecs, WINE 0.9.61. In this version the NVIDIA driver is removed, but you can download both the NVIDIA and ATI driver from their official web sites." Visit the project's news page to read the brief release announcement. Download: litrix-8.5.iso (1,221MB).

Raphael Vallazza has announced the first release candidate for Endian Firewall 2.2 "Community" edition, a firewall appliance based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux: "The Endian team is glad to announce a new beta release of the Endian Firewall Community, with many bug fixes and enhancements. Highlights: enhanced management of WAN/RED connections (support for multiple uplinks, multiple IPs and networks on each WAN/RED interface in STATIC mode, uplink monitoring with automatic failover); Port forwarding (multiple uplink support, allowing different rules per uplink, port forwarding of traffic coming from VPN end points, option for rule-based logging); system access (external access has now been enhanced and renamed to system access, fine-grained management of permissions regarding access to the system from LAN, WAN, DMZ and VPN end points)...." Read the rest of the release announcement for further information. Download: EFW-COMMUNITY-2.2-rc1-200805131128.iso (118MB, MD5).

Miklós Vajna has announced the availability of the first preview release of Frugalware Linux 0.9: "The Frugalware developer team is pleased to announce the immediate availability of Frugalware 0.9pre1, the first technical preview of the upcoming 0.9 stable release. Changes since 0.8: the network configuration utility now lists card details next to interface names, the USB installer is now a plain image; improved security and general user support; more than 150 other minor features; package updates - Linux kernel 2.6.25 + security fixes, GCC 4.3.0, GNOME 2.22, more than 900 other package updates; new packages - about 40 new Java libraries, several new Drupal modules, many new oOctave modules, more than 150 other new packages." Here is the full release announcement. Download: frugalware-0.9pre1-i686-dvd1.iso (4,265MB, MD5, torrent).

Beyond Linux From Scratch (BLFS) is a project that provides instruction for extending a Linux From Scratch (LFS) installation into a full desktop or server distribution. The first release candidate for version 6.3 has been released: "BLFS version 6.3 is the complement to the LFS 6.3 book. The BLFS book now provides build and configuration instructions for almost 500 packages (many more than that if you want to count each individual package in the auto-tooled X Window instructions). Some of the new packages introduced in this version are: Dash, ksh, D-Bus bindings, Wireshark, rxvt-unicode, Gutenprint, Pidgin, GnuTLS (and many of its dependencies), Qt version 4.x, GnuPG version 2.x, and Amarok. Major updates include GNOME 2.18.3 (with several new GNOME packages), KDE 3.5.9, Firefox 2.x, Thunderbird 2.x, and most (if not all) of the mainline server packages." Here are the full release notes. The 1,190-page BLFS 6.3-rc1 book is available for online viewing (HTML format) or direct download (PDF format).

Clement Lefebvre has announced the availability of the first development release of Linux Mint 5.0, code name "Elyssa" and based on the recently released Ubuntu 8.04: "After many sleepless nights and a lot of work, I am delighted to announce that the first release candidate for Linux Mint 5 'Elyssa' was released and that it is now available for download." What's new? A long list of miscellaneous improvements to mintMenu, mintUpdate and mintInstall; various feature enhancements on the GNOME desktop, performance improvements through reduced memory usage; improved look and feel; more available software; changes in default software selection (Transmission, Rhythmbox, Brasero...); upstream improvements. See the release announcement and read the detailed release notes for further information. Download: LinuxMint-5-BETA-032.iso (674MB, MD5).

JÃŒrg Billeter has announced the release of paldo GNU/Linux 1.14, an independently developed, hybrid source/binary distribution with a custom package management tool: "We are pleased to announce the release of paldo GNU/Linux 1.14 with many bug fixes and updates. During this development cycle we integrated some major changes. One of the bigger moves was the update to GNOME 2.22, which brought many new features, such as better support for network file systems, a polished Evolution, and some window compositing eye-candy. Another nice improvement is the addition of OpenOffice.org 2.4. The kernel has been updated to version 2.6.24 to support the latest technologies and drivers. Further enhancements to point out: Pidgin 2.4.1, MonoDevelop 1.0, AbiWord 2.6.0, Anjuta 2.4.1." Visit the project's home page to read the full release announcement. Download: paldo-live-cd-x86-stable.iso (661MB, MD5), paldo-live-cd-x86_64-stable.iso (689MB, MD5).

Patrick Verner has announced the release of Parted Magic 2.2, a specialist live CD distribution designed to facilitate hard disk management tasks: "This is another update / bug-fix in the 2.0 series. I dropped VisParted because strong development is coming from the GParted camp once again. Recent updated to PCManFM have made some new things possible on the desktop and improved the look and feel. All mountable partitions and CD-ROMs are fully supported from the desktop now, so it's never been easier to access files from Parted Magic. You will find most of the bad bugs and annoyances from 2.1 have been fixed." Visit the project's news page and check out the latest changelog for more information about Parted Magic 2.2. Download: pmagic-2.2.iso (44.9MB, MD5).

Flavio Pereira de Oliveira has announced the availability of the first beta release of GoblinX 2.7, a Slackware-based live CD: "GoblinX 2.7 beta 1 is released. GoblinX Standard is the original edition, first released in October 2004. It includes five windows managers: KDE, Fluxbox, Xfce, Enlightenment and WindowMaker. Main upgrades since the last release: upgraded kernel (2.6.24.3), Aufs, Squashfs and linux-live; upgraded all GNOME libraries and applications; upgraded several more libraries and packages; upgraded KDE (3.5.9); upgraded Magic Center and Media Manager; added gosfiles to be read by our interfaces; added webmount features allowing anyone to use modules without downloading them; changes are restored and saved by default if device allows rewrite; changes can be saved to a FAT32 file system...." Visit the project's news page to read the full release announcement. Download: GoblinX-2.7.beta1.iso (293MB, MD5).

Here it is: the first stable release from Project Indiana, OpenSolaris 2008.05: "From dorm room to boardroom. OpenSolaris has everything you need to take your brilliant idea, build a prototype, test it, deploy it, and run it on production servers -- out of a loft, or across your enterprise. And when your application goes viral, you won't have to throw hardware at the problem, or switch to a different OS. OpenSolaris is industrial strength and built to scale from the get go. The live CD makes it simple to boot to a fully functional desktop environment, including Firefox and Thunderbird. Try it without fear -- our instant rollback feature works like a giant undo button, so your system is always protected, and you'll never lose work. And, you can load OpenSolaris 2008.05 easily in a variety of virtualization technologies including the open source VirtualBox hypervisor." Visit the newly revamped OpenSolaris web site to learn more about Solaris on the desktop. Download: os200805.iso (686MB, MD5, torrent).

Barry Kauler has announced the final release of Puppy Linux 4.00, a major updated of the minimalist desktop distribution: "Finally it has happened! The last 'official' release of Puppy was version 3.01, released October 15, 2007. Version 4.00 is happening 6 months later, which is an incredibly long time considering the previous frenetic schedule of releases. A summary of milestones: 4.00 has been totally compiled from source, using the T2-project; GTK+ 1.x and Tcl/Tk abandoned; exciting new GTK+ 2.x applications; scanner support and digital camera support are now built-in to the 'standard' live CD; theming of GTK+, JWM window manager and desktop background has been totally revised; numerous hardware-related and system-related improvements...." Read the rest of the detailed release notes for further information. Download: puppy-4.00-k2.6.21.7-seamonkey.iso (87.1MB, MD5).

An updated development build of Elive, a Debian-based distribution featuring the latest Enlightenment window manager, is out and ready for testing: "The Elive team is proud to announce the release of development version 1.7.2 This release contains support for b43 WiFi cards, a trayer, and a lot more things. Details: this is the preliminary version of improved menus, they are better organized now, with more sections, and they should show any application that the user installs; b43 wireless cards (bcm43xx) are better supported, with a configuration wizard that asks whether to use NDISwrapper or a native Linux driver; Enlightenment 17 updated and configuration improved; more virtual desktops are included by default; the segfault bug in the pager is fixed; Tray - first implementation of a trayer in Elive; the Elive User Guide is updated (and translated to German); terminal and Vim have improved functionality and looks." Here is the brief release announcement. Download: elive_1.7.2_unstable.iso (662MB, MD5).

Bluewhite64 Linux 12.1, an unofficial port of Slackware Linux to the x86_64 architecture, has been released: "Bluewhite64 Linux has reached version 12.1. Many changes, upgrades, new feature additions and improvements have been done since version 12.0. Among the many program updates and distribution enhancements, you'll find better support for RAID, LVM, and cryptsetup, a network capable (FTP and HTTP, not only NFS) installer, and two of the most advanced desktop environments available today: Xfce 4.4.2 and KDE 3.5.9. We have added support for HAL (the hardware Abstraction Layer) which allows the system administrator to add users to the 'cdrom' and 'plugdev' groups." Read the full release announcement for more information. Download: bluewhite64-12.1-install-dvd.iso (4,112MB, MD5). The official Bluewhite64 DVD is also available for purchase (€19.95).

The second beta of openSUSE 11.0 has been released: "The openSUSE team is proud to announce the second Beta release of openSUSE 11.0! New changes include countless bug fixes, as well as the import of the new openSUSE 11.0 artwork for login, splash screens and more. The live installation should work, but there are several known quirks, so be sure to check the most annoying bugs list before proceeding. Remember that this is a beta. It may not be safe to run for production systems, and should be used by users interested in testing the next release of openSUSE for bugs. Most annoying bugs: automatic configuration after boot into installed system behaves strangely; installation leaves traces of live system." Read the rest of the release announcement for further details. Interested beta testers can download the installation DVD images via BitTorrent: openSUSE-11.0-Beta2-DVD-i386.iso (4,370MB), openSUSE-11.0-Beta2-DVD-x86_64.iso (4,453MB).

Patrick Volkerding has announced the release of Slackware Linux 12.1: "Well folks, it's that time to announce a new stable Slackware release again. So, without further ado, announcing Slackware version 12.1! Since we've moved to supporting the 2.6 kernel series exclusively (and fine-tuned the system to get the most out of it), we feel that Slackware 12.1 has many improvements over our last release (Slackware 12.0) and is a must-have upgrade for any Slackware user. Among the many program updates and distribution enhancements, you'll find better support for RAID, LVM, and cryptsetup; a network capable (FTP and HTTP, not only NFS) installer; and two of the most advanced desktop environments available today: Xfce 4.4.2, a fast, lightweight, and visually appealing desktop environment, and KDE 3.5.9, the latest 3.x version of the full-featured K Desktop Environment." More details in the release announcement. Order the official installation DVD from Slackware store (US$49.95) or download it via BitTorrent: slackware-12.1-install-dvd.iso (3,862MB). Happy slacking!

Mandriva S.A. has announced the availability of an unofficial "Xfce" edition of Mandriva Linux 2008.1: "Thanks to the efforts of the Mandriva Linux Xfce development community, an Xfce edition of Mandriva Linux 2008.1 One is now available. Just like the KDE and GNOME editions of One, this is an installable live CD edition of Mandriva Linux 2008.1, but this time featuring Xfce as the desktop environment. As with the other One editions, three images are available, with different sets of languages on each. This is an unofficial release, but the Xfce development volunteers will attempt to address any problems or questions about this release. You can get the default language set edition here, the alternative language set edition here and the Asian language set edition here." Read the short release announcement for further information. A quick link to the default CD image: mandriva-linux-one-2008-spring-xfce4-int-cdrom-i586.iso (603MB, MD5), mandriva-linux-one-2008-spring-xfce4-int-cdrom-x86_64.iso (672MB, MD5).

Brian Brazil has announced the final release of gNewSense 2.0 "DeltaH", a 100% "libre" distribution based on the recently released Ubuntu 8.04: "I've just released the live CD for gNewSense 2.0, the first full release of 'DeltaH'. This is less than a week after 'Hardy Heron' was released. All bugs reported since the 1.9 beta have been addressed. Features since 1.1: now based on Ubuntu 'Hardy Heron'; new artwork; switched from BurningDog (Firefox) to Epiphany; switched to BLAG's 'deblob' script for the kernel; non-free GLX removed from X/mesa; builder - use chroot for building; builder - added support for Debian source packages." Here are the brief release announcement and release notes. Download: gnewsense-livecd-deltah-2.0.iso (688MB, MD5, torrent).

The easys development team has announced the release of easys GNU/Linux 4.1, a Slackware-based distribution featuring a graphical installer and an advanced package manager: "We are pleased to announce the release of easys GNU/Linux 4.1. This release is a milestone in the development of the easys distribution. For the first time the new installation and the administration framework for Linux - ALICE (Advanced Linux Installation and Configuration Environment) - is introduced to the public. Thanks to ALICE, users are now able to perform easy graphical installation of a Slackware Linux system. Another innovation is the switch to the 2.6 (2.6.24.3) kernel series and the omission of the 2.4 kernel support. X DRI (Direct Rendering Interface) and a modular X.Org version provide hardware accelerated 3D display." Visit the distribution's news page to read the full release announcement. Download: easys-4.1.iso (688MB, MD5).

Mason J. Katz has announced the release of Rocks Cluster Distribution 5.0, a CentOS-based distribution designed for building Linux clusters: "Rocks 5.0 is released for i386 and x86_64 CPU architectures. New Features: 1. Xen support. You can use the Xen roll to create 'VM Containers' - physical machines that are used to hold Xen-based virtual machines. The Rocks Command Line was expanded to help build and maintain virtual machines. 2. Fully programmable partitioning. The partitioning of client nodes (e.g., compute nodes and tile nodes) has been re-tooled. Enhancements: based on CentOS release 5.1 and all updates as of April 29, 2008; Condor updated to 7.0.1; Ganglia monitor core updated to 3.0.7...." Here is the complete release announcement. The installation CD/DVD images, together with specialist "rolls" are available for download from the project's FTP server; see the download page for a list of available files and download instructions.

Theo de Raadt has announced the release of OpenBSD 4.3: "We are pleased to announce the official release of OpenBSD 4.3. This is our 23rd release on CD-ROM (and 24th via FTP). We remain proud of OpenBSD's record of more than ten years with only two remote holes in the default install. As in our previous releases, 4.3 provides significant improvements, including new features, in nearly all areas of the system. Highlights include: GNOME 2.20.3, GNUstep 1.14.2, KDE 3.5.8, Mozilla Firefox 2.0.0.12, Mozilla Thunderbird 2.0.0.12, MySQL 5.0.51a, OpenMotif 2.3.0, OpenOffice.org 2.3.1, PostgreSQL 8.2.6, Xfce 4.4.2." Read the release announcement and release notes for a detailed list of changes and new features. Installation ISO images for a variety of architectures are available for download from these OpenBSD mirrors and also via BitTorrent; quick links to the i386 and amd64 installation images: i386/install43.iso (203MB, MD5), amd64/install43.iso (222MB, MD5).

Jani Monoses has announced the release of Kiwi Linux 8.04: "Kiwi Linux 8.04 is a i386 desktop CD derivative based on Ubuntu 8.04 LTS. It installs packages necessary for playing restricted audio, video and Flash formats by default and supports the Speedtouch 330 USB ADSL modem. The list of available languages is English, French, German, Hungarian and Romanian. The default package selection is altered somewhat to be more familiar to Windows users: Thunderbird is the default mail client and Audacious the music player. Other additions to the CD: Compiz extra settings GUI; unrar and Microsoft True Type core fonts; a graphical tool for restoring GRUB boot menus lost after installing other operating systems; Midnight Commander. The Medibuntu repositories are enabled by default to allow installing w32codecs, Skype and Google Earth among others." Here is the brief release announcement. Download: kiwi-8.04.iso (702MB, MD5, torrent).

Donnie Berkholz has announced the second beta release of Gentoo Linux 2008.0: "Gentoo Linux 2008.0 beta2 is here. Thanks to you, our community, for testing beta1 and filing many bugs. You can help make 2008.0 amazing! Test out this beta and report any functionality issues you encounter. Since this is still a beta, we're looking only for bugs in functionality, not bugs in appearance such as desktop backgrounds or other artwork. This should be the last beta and will be followed by the final 2008.0 release after further bug fixing." There are no changelogs or release notes, but a very short release announcement is available here. Interested beta testers can download the live CD/DVD images from these Gentoo mirrors: livecd-i686-installer-2008.0_beta2.iso (838MB), livecd-amd64-installer-2008.0_beta2.iso (670MB).

CDlinux 0.6.1, or Compact Distro Linux, is a 60 MB mini-distribution with the latest Linux kernel, X.Org, Xfce window manager, and a handful of desktop applications. A new version 0.6.1, together with a revamped project web site, was unveiled today: "The CDlinux team is proud to announce the release of CDlinux 0.6.1. This release is a minor bug fix and has some major feature enhancement. It ships with Linux kernel 2.6.24.5, X.Org 7.3, Xfce 4.4.2, Firefox 2.0.0.14, Pidgin 2.4.1, xine 1.1.12, and many other up-to-date popular applications. All these are packed in a 57 MB ISO image. This release fixes a quote bug in rc.modules. It has newly added support for touchpads, LZMA compression, PDF file, and improved support for desktop icons. It also features greatly improved font support for various languages and locales." Visit the distribution's news page to read the release announcement. Download (MD5): CDlinux-0.6.1.iso.gz (58.0MB).

Brian Brazil has announced the first beta release of gNewSense 2.0, an Ubuntu-based distribution with the goal of strictly adhering to the software freedom ideals defined by Free Software Foundation: "I've just released the live CD for gNewSense 1.9, the BETA for deltah. Features since 1.1 include: now based on Ubuntu Hardy Heron; new artwork; switched from BurningDog (Firefox) to Epiphany; switched to BLAG's deblob script for the kernel; non-free GLX removed from X/mesa; Builder: use chroot for building; Builder - added support for Debian source packages. As this is a beta release, there are still things which aren't perfect. Please report any bugs you find - especially if they aren't present in Hardy. A 2.0 live CD is planned to be released in a day or two. It will be possible to upgrade from a 1.9 install." Here is the brief release announcement. Download: gnewsense-livecd-deltah-1.9.iso (639MB, MD5, torrent).

MythDora 5.0, a Fedora-based distribution designed to simplify the installation of MythTV on a home theatre PC, has been released: "MythDora 5.0 is finally here. It's based on Fedora 8 along with MythTV 0.21. This version is the cleanest, most feature-rich and best-tested version we've done so far. Installing MythDora 5.0 has pretty much stayed the same as the previous version so there shouldn't be too many surprises. You can still install the same way as before using Custom or Auto with Custom being the preferred method. MythDora 5 features: Fedora 8 with 2.6.24.4 kernel; MythTV 0.21; more remote control support; PVR-350 TV-out GUI installer; MythWeb password protect at install; NFS/Samba GUI installers; MythTV Add/Remove module GUI menu; MythTV Setup access from MythDora Tools; IMDB Bulk updater script; latest NVIDIA, ATI and OpenChrome drivers...." Read the rest of the release announcement for more details. Download: MythDora-5.0-i386-DVD.iso (1,228MB, SHA1).

Mythbuntu 8.04, a new member of the Ubuntu family and a distribution whose goal is to make it easy to set up a home theatre system with MythTV, has been released: "After long hours and endless work the Mythbuntu team is excited about the release of Mythbuntu 8.04. This release is built on the LTS base of Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron. Features: frontend can be run from the live CD; complete installations (backend, frontend, backend/frontend, etc); Xfce window manager; easily upgrade from Ubuntu Hardy to Mythbuntu; custom Mythbuntu MythTV theme; graphical setup of LIRC; set up MythTV optimizations through Mythbuntu Control Center (MCC); diskless server setup through MCC. Major changes: MythTV 0.21; diskless server; new Mythbuntu frontend theme; new web site theme." Read the release announcement and release notes for further information. Download: mythbuntu-8.04-desktop-i386.iso (519MB, MD5, torrent), mythbuntu-8.04-desktop-amd64.iso (543MB, MD5, torrent).

Next, it's the turn of Xubuntu to announce their latest release, version 8.04: "The Xubuntu developers are constantly bringing you the absolute latest and most stable software that the open source and free software communities have to offer. This is their latest result: the Xubuntu 8.04 LTS, which brings a host of excellent new features: Xfce 4.4.2, featuring the latest round of bug fixes from the steadily-improving Xfce 4 desktop environment; Linux kernel 2.6.24; PolicyKit with fine-grained control over user permissions, PulseAudio sound server; X.Org 7.3; the settings manager; Thunar file browser, Firefox 3.0 beta 5; Brasero and Transmission..." Read the rest of the release notes for more information. Download (MD5): xubuntu-8.04-desktop-i386.iso (544MB, torrent), xubuntu-8.04-desktop-amd64.iso (551MB, torrent).

Welcome to the big Ubuntu release day! As expected, Canonical today announced the release of Ubuntu 8.04 LTS, a desktop and server Linux distribution with a long-term support characteristic: "The Ubuntu team is pleased to announce Ubuntu 8.04 LTS (Long-Term Support) on desktop and server, continuing Ubuntu's tradition of integrating the latest and greatest open source technologies into a high-quality, easy-to-use Linux distribution. The latest Ubuntu release brings the best of open source together on a platform that is here to stay with 3 years of free updates. With hundreds of improvements and the addition of the latest version of Firefox amongst other outstanding applications, more and more users are assessing why Ubuntu wins more and more converts with every release." Read the release announcement, check out the release notes and visit the features page for more information. Download (MD5): ubuntu-8.04-desktop-i386.iso (699MB, torrent), ubuntu-8.04-desktop-amd64.iso (697MB, torrent).

Raphael Vallazza has announced the fourth beta of Endian Firewall 2.2, a firewall distribution based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux: "The Endian Team is glad to announce a new beta release of the Endian Firewall Community, with many bug fixes and enhancements. Endian Firewall Community is an all-in-one Linux security distribution that turns every system into a full featured security appliance. Changes from 2.2 Beta 3: new enhanced GUI; added OpenVPN x.509 certificate and pre-shared key (PSK) support; added static IP address support for OpenVPN clients; added Source NAT support; 60+ bug fixes and other enhancements." Read the release announcement and changelog for additional information. Download: EFW-COMMUNITY-2.2-beta4.iso (126MB, MD5).

Kris Moore has announced the release of PC-BSD 1.5.1, a desktop operating system based on FreeBSD 6: "PC-BSD version 1.5.1 is now available for download as both ISO and updates from version 1.5. This version provides updates to the default port set, as well as numerous bug fixes to the system tools and utilities. Also, additional translations have been added to provide a more complete localized experience." From the changelog: "Bug fixes to the PBI removal tool; added detection for NFE / MSK networking cards; added GutenPrint support for additional print drivers; added additional fonts to X.Org; updated the PolicyKit configuration for latest HAL improvements; fixed SMP support in default kernel configuration; bug fixes to the new SystemUpdater tool; updated the installed ports to latest as of 2008-04-16...." The release announcement, changelog, release notes. Download (MD5): PCBSD1.5.1-x86-CD1.iso (657MB), PCBSD1.5.1-x64-CD1.iso (675MB).

The second release candidate for Bluewhite64 Linux, a Slackware-based distribution for the x86_64 architectures, is out and ready for testing: "We have reached the second release candidate of the upcoming stable release of Bluewhite64 Linux 12.1. Since the first RC, we have upgraded the Linux kernel to version 2.6.24.5, added the latest stable Linux Kernel 2.6.25 to the testing area and made it available as a test.s kernel during installation. Also, added the IA32 emulation for those who need to run 32-bit programs, this can be found in the extra software repository. Many other small cosmetic fixes have been merged." Here is the brief release announcement. Download the installation DVD image from here: bluewhite64-12.1-rc2-install-dvd.iso (1,785MB, MD5).

Tobias Gerschner has announced the availability of the first beta release of Yoper Linux 3.1, an i686 optimised desktop Linux distribution: "The Yoper team is proud to announce that Yoper Linux 3.1 is close to completion. This release ships with Linux kernel 2.6.23, X.Org 7.3, KDE 3.5.9, KOffice 1.6.3, Firefox 2.0.0.14 and a vast range of other cutting-edge desktop packages. Of course, there are other desktop environments available, including Fluxbox, Xfce and KDE 4. The sole remaining task is a refined desktop look. We hope to see many contributions from users to help us to define the new look for a fast, powerful and slick desktop. There has been a vast amount of changes. The most user visible changes are the integration of the ARK Linux security concept and the clear separation of desktop environments." Read the rest of the release notes for further information. Download: yoper-3.1-beta-live.iso (672MB, MD5).

Robert Shingledecker has announced the final release of Damn Small Linux 4.3. From the changelog: "Updated Firefox browser to version 2; updated murgaLua to 0.6.8; updated nano-tiny to 2.0.7; updated and consolidation of mydslBrowser with new mydslBrowser.lua; new picture puzzle added to Games collection; new calculator.lua replaces Calcoo; optimized minirt24.gz - much smaller; new background and theme for both JWM and Fluxbox; updated 'noicons' boot option to suppress icons in JWM; fixed removal of mydsl extensions on traditional hard drive installations; dropped SCSI modules for needed space - available in the modules section; fixed CD recording scanbus device error by adding scsi/sg.o module; updated editor.lua - menu issue resolved for new murgaLua version...." Download: dsl-4.3.iso (49.6MB, MD5).

A stable Slackware Linux 12.1 is just behind the corner: "We have now reached the Slackware 12.1 RC2 milestone. We're beyond updating packages or fixing minor cosmetic bugs at this point (actually, we had hoped to be past that with RC1, but there were still items in need of attention). What we have here now has proven to be stable for our testers, so unless some real showstoppers are found we'll be releasing this as Slackware 12.1-final soon." In other changelog items, the Linux kernel has been updated to version 2.6.24.5, glibc recompiled for the new kernel and xine-libs fixed due to a possible security issue. Please see the detailed changelog for further information. As always, no official installation media have been released, but unofficial CD and DVD images should be available from this mirror shortly.

Vyatta has announced the release of Vyatta Community Edition 4, a Debian-based firewall distribution: "Vyatta today announced Vyatta Community Edition 4 (VC4), the latest release of its reliable, commercially supported open-source network operating system." Some of the new features include: "Improved scalability - VC4 now scales from DSL to 10 GB Ethernet environments; new routing technology for improved performance; designed to accommodate an ever-increasing number of applications and functionality extensions; adds remote access VPN, QoS, role-based access control, and the new FusionCLI management interface; provides support for PPPoE and dynamic interface IP addresses, and WAN load balancing." Read the complete press release for more details. Download: vyatta-livecd-vc4.iso (132MB).

A new development build of Elive, a Debian-based distribution featuring the latest Enlightenment window manager, is out and ready for testing: "After many silent weeks and relentless testing by our tireless users of the 1.6 and 1.6.2 development releases, we have now reached 1.7! This is a full-featured version of Elive with some long-awaited features working out-of-the-box: E17 menus ready; suspend and hibernation are now implemented by default; in the boot options of the live mode the language selector menu is enabled by default again; a new tool to make translations in Elive called 'eltrans'; eject CD fixed in the live mode; auto-launchers: have been re-implemented; printer issues hopefully fixed (new front-end); switched to ESU, EFL version of Gksu; Elpanel also got a few updates." Read the rest of the release announcement for further information. Download: elive_1.7_unstable.iso (659MB, MD5).

Matthew Dillon has announced the availability of an updated release of DragonFly BSD, version 1.12.2: "DragonFly BSD 1.12.2 released. A significant number of bug and security fixes have been merged from current to the 1.12 branch over the last two months and we have rolled a new sub-release, 1.12.2, for the benefit of our users. We recommend that 1.12 users upgrade. In addition there is a known issue related to building pkgsrc packages from source which is addressed in the above release notes. Basically the M4 package sources needs to be patched. This applies to HEAD users as well." Changes: "Fix wide symbols (wstring, wint_t etc) support in gcc41 (libstdc++); add libc support for gcc41 stack protector; update bzip2 to 1.0.5...." See the release announcement and release notes for further details and errata issues. Download (MD5): dfly-1.12.2_REL.iso.gz (124MB).

Alan Baghumian announced the release of the first test version of Parsix GNU/Linux 1.5r0, a desktop distribution from Iran based on Debian and derived from KANOTIX: "The first testing version of the brand new version of Parsix GNU/Linux 1.5 (code name 'Viola') is available now. Viola TEST-1 contains a new kernel, many updated software packages and several fixes for the reported defects. This version is synchronized with Parsix and Debian testing repositories as of April 18, 2008. Several bugs have been solved (#101, #102, #103, #105, #106), replaced GQView with EOG image viewer, removed bug-buddy, gdb and iptraf to make more free space. Highlights: GNOME 2.22.1, Linux kernel 2.6.24.4 with CK, TuxOnIce 3.0-RC5, iwlwifi 1.2.23 with led support and powertop patches, updated several kernel drivers, OpenOffice.org 2.4.0 and GNU Iceweasel 2.0.0.12. We need your help to test the system and report bugs." Read the release announcement and release notes for more. Download: parsix_1.5r0-test-1-i386.iso (690MB, MD5), parsix_1.5r0-test-1-amd64.iso (702MB, MD5).

Steve Langasek announced the release candidate of Ubuntu 8.04 "Hardy Heron": "The Ubuntu team is pleased to announce the Release Candidate for Ubuntu 8.04 LTS (Long-Term Support) on desktop and server. Codenamed "Hardy Heron", 8.04 LTS continues Ubuntu's proud tradition of integrating the latest and greatest open source technologies into a high-quality, easy-to-use Linux distribution. We consider this release candidate to be complete, stable, and suitable for testing by any user... The Ubuntu 8.04 LTS family of variants, Kubuntu, Xubuntu, UbuntuStudio, and Mythbuntu, also reach RC status today. The final release of Ubuntu 8.04 LTS is scheduled for 24 April 2008 and will be supported for three years on the desktop and five years on the server." More info in the release announcement and release notes. Download (MD5): ubuntu-8.04-rc-desktop-i386.iso (690MB, torrent), ubuntu-8.04-rc-desktop-amd64.iso (692MB, torrent). Also released: 8.04 Release Candidate CD images for Kubuntu (download, release notes), Kubuntu KDE4 (download), Xubuntu (download), Ubuntu Studio (download), Mythbuntu (download) and other Ubuntu subprojects.

Jesse Keating announced the availability of the release of Fedora 9 Preview: "After some minor delays (like all rawhide flights grounded for a few days of repair...), the Fedora Project is proud to announce the release of Fedora 9 Preview! This is a Preview release, it is fairly close to what the final product will be like. This is the most critical release for the Fedora community to use and test and report bugs on. This is the last major public release before the final GOLD Fedora 9 release on May 13th (we hope). For this Preview release, we will be doing a staged offering. The first stage, available now, will be via bittorrent. The second stage, which should be available early next week, will be via our world wide mirroring system, and will include jigdo." Read the complete release announcement for more details. Live images, KDE Live images, CDs and DVD options are available via BitTorrent. Download the desktop live CDs via BitTorrent: Fedora-9-Preview-i686-Live.iso (687MB), Fedora-9-Preview-x86_64-Live.iso (702MB).

Draco GNU/Linux is a distribution based on Slackware Linux and "pkgsrc", a package management system developed by NetBSD. A new version, 0.3, was released a few days ago: "Introducing Draco GNU/Linux 0.3.0. Featuring kernel 2.6.23 (with optional 2.6.16), glibc 2.6.1, GCC 4.1.2, and OSS 4.0. Selected packages from pkgsrc are available through the repository and on an ISO image. This release also introduces Draco Desktop. Draco Desktop contains the latest stable Draco release, bundled with software from the latest pkgsrc branch. Draco Desktop defaults to Xfce, with Fluxbox as an option." Here is the brief release announcement. Draco GNU/Linux 0.3.0 is available for download either as a minimal base system or a "Desktop" edition, an installation CD with Xfce and Fluxbox window managers. Download the CD images from here: draco-0.3.0.iso (232MB, MD5), draco-desktop-2007Q4.iso (596MB, MD5).

A release candidate for Arch Linux 2008.04 is out and ready for testing: "A new batch of install images is currently being uploaded to mirrors. The FTP images have been made available tonight, while the CORE images will be pushed tomorrow night in order to distribute the load. This marks the first release based on a true live Arch system. That is, what's on the images is just a plain old base installation which just happens to boot from a CD or a USB stick. The installer script itself is roughly the same as it has always been. The most noticeable change is the use of UUIDs instead of sdX/hdX entries by default.If you get the chance, please give the images a spin. By the way, the 'RC' status of these images should not be a turn-off if you're looking to install Arch; there's a very good chance they'll work just fine for you." Here is the brief release announcement. Download (MD5): arch-core-install-2008.04-rc-i686.iso (287MB), arch-core-install-2008.04-rc-x86_64.iso (303MB).

Guardian Digital has announced the release of EnGarde Secure Linux 3.0.19: "Guardian Digital is happy to announce the release of EnGarde Secure Community 3.0.19. This release includes many updated packages and bug fixes and some feature enhancements to the EnGarde Secure Linux installer and the SELinux policy. New features include: several enhancements were made to einstall, the EnGarde Secure Linux Installer; the 'Language Selection' screen now works and will complete the installation in the language (and with the associated keymap) you select; network configuration information is also carried over from the live CD configuration, if present, into the installer; several new packages such as Alpine, Netcat, Nikto (2.02), pam_userpass, watchdogd (0.90), and SmokePing; the latest stable versions of MySQL (5.0.51a), Apache (2.2.8), Asterisk (1.4.18), BIND (9.4.2)...." Read the complete release notes for more information. Download (MD5): engarde-community-3.0.19.i686.iso (613MB, torrent), engarde-community-3.0.19.x86_64.iso (620MB, torrent).

BeleniX 0.7, a live CD based on OpenSolaris, has been released: "We are pleased to announce the availability of BeleniX 0.7. This release marks a considerable change in the evolution of BeleniX. As of 0.7, BeleniX is a source level derivative of Project Indiana. As such, it has most of the Indiana features except for image packaging which is still in the works. Version 0.7 is installable to the hard disk and supports ZFS root. Following are the highlights of the release: re-branded Caiman installer installs BeleniX to ZFS root; the distro constructor is adapted as the BeleniX constructor; fully packaged, all software is delivered via SVR4 packages; includes the full 64-bit kernel and libraries; properly integrated and themed KDE 3.5.8..." Read the release announcement and release notes for further details. Download (MD5): belenix.0.7.iso (680MB, torrent).